
Pass L V6 . 2 

Book Ll/Li/^ _ 



CEREMONIES 



royNECTED WITH 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE MAUSOLEUM AND THE UNVEILING 
OF THE RECUMBENT FIGURE 



GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 

AT 

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, 
Lexington, Va.. June 28. 1883. 



ORATION OF JOHN W. DANIEL, LL D, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



Lee Memorial Association. 



LYNCHBURG, VA. : 
J.. P. B..F.L1. A Co., Printeb.'?. 

1883. 



L4(^ 



.\ 



1 



.L4L44. 






HISTORICAL SKETCH 

OF THE 

Lee Memorial Association, 

BY 

W. ALLAN, 

R MBrnbE-r of the ExECUtlva CainrnlttBa, 



Gesteral Robert Edward Lee was prostrated by his last 
illness on September 28, 1870. lie died two weeks later, on 
the morning of October 12. On October 15 he was buried 
beneath the cliapel of Washington College, now Washington 
and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. This place was 
selected by Mrs. Lee after the authorities of the College had 
placed at her disposal any part of the grounds she might prefer. 
The day, though full of the glory of autumn, was the most 
mournful in the annals of Lexington. A vast concourse, com- 
prising the entire population of the town and the vicinity, with 
delegations from other places, followed, with sadness and tears, 
the remains of General Leo to the tomb. The funeral services 
were conducted by the Rev. W. iST. Pendleton, D. D., (late 
Brigadier General and Chief of Artillery of the Army of North- 
ern Virginia,) the rector of Grace Episcopal Church, of which 
General Lee was a member. The body was deposited in a vault 
prepared for the purpose. 

' On the day of the funeral a large number of ex-Confederate 
soldiers assembled in the court-house at Lexington, and after 
giving expression to the love and veneration of the South for 
General Lee, and to the sorrow at his death, resolved to take 
steps to erect a monument in honor of their great leader. .They 
felt that even in the midst of poverty and disaster, no labor 
could be more grateful, no duty more sacred, than that of 
making manifest to the future, in some enduring v;ay, tlie love 
and admiration of his countrymen for the character and genius 
of Robert E. Lee. 



'^--At this meeting was formed the LeeMemoeial Association-, 
and the following were appointed an Executive Committee to 
carry into effect the objects of the Association : 

Gen. W. N. Pendleton, Chief Artillery, A. N. V. 

Capt. J. J. White, Liberty Hall Vols., 4tli Va. Reg't. 

Col. J. K. Edmondson, 2Tth Va. Reg't. 

Col. "W. Preston Johnston, Staff of President Davis. 

Capt. A. Gi'ahara, Rockbridge Artillery. 

Maj. Jas. B. Dorman, C. S. A. 

Lt.-Col. W. Allan, Chief Ord. Officer, 2nd Corps, A. N. V. 

Capt. J. C. Bonde, 27th Va. Reg't. 

Capt. C. A. Davidson, 1st Va. Battalion. 

Lt.-Col. Wm. M. McLaughlin, Artillery, C. S. A. 
. Lt.-Col. J. W. Massie, 51st Va. Reg't. ^ 

W. A. Anderson, Liberty Hall Vols., 4th Va. Reg't. 

This Committee met October 24, ISTO, at the office of Capt. 
C. A. Davidson, and organized by electing Gen. W. N. Pen- 
dleton as chairman, and Capt. Charles A. Davidson as secretary. 
The Committee, in accordance with the duties entrusted to it, 
then elected the following officers of the Lee Memorial 
Association : 

President — Gen. Jno. C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky. 

Vice-Pres't-at-Large — Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, of Vii-ginia. 

^7-. T) u -c 1^- • • i Gen. Jubal A. Earlv, 
Vicc-rrests from v irgmia, •< ri i i^r m. tt ti "i 

'=' ' ( Col. Walter 11. lay lor. 

Vice-Pres't from Louisiana, Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard. 

" " - N. Carolina, Gen. D. H. Hill. 

" " " S. Carolina, Gen. Wade Hampton. 

" " " Georgia, Gen, John B. Gordon. 

" " " Alabama, Gen. W. J. Hardee. 

" " " Mississippi, Gen. S. I). Lee. 

" " " Tennessee, R. S. Ewell. 

" " " Texas, Gen. Jno. B. Hood. 

" " " Maryland, Gen. I. R. Trimble. 

'•' " " Missouri, Gen. J. S. Marmaduko. 

" " ♦' Arkansas, Gen. J. C. Tappau. 

Treasurer, C. M. Figgat, Esq., Cashier Bank of Lexington, Va. 



A committee was appointed to prepare an address for pnbli- 
cation, setting forth the purposes of tlic Association, and an- 
otlier committee was instructed to draw up a charter, and to 
submit it to the Legishiture of Virginia for enactment. 

Mi's. Marj Custis Lee M'as requested by the Executive Com- 
mittee to indicate her preference in regard to the monument to 
be erected by the Association, and at her suggestion, Mr. Ed. V. 
Valentine, the distinguished Virginian sculptor, was sent for. 
Mr. Valentine had, the preceding summer, modeled a bust of 
General Lee from life, which was considered an admirable 
work of art. Mrs. Lee, after examining a number of drawings 
and photographs of celebrated works ot art, suggested, as a 
suitable design for the monument, a recumbent figure of Gen- 
eral Lee lying asleep upon the field of battle. The design was 
suggested to her by Ranch's figure of Louise of Prussia in the 
mausoleum at Charlottenburg. This figure of Lee, some- 
what above life size, was to be placed upon a sarcophagus suit- 
ably inscribed and decorated. The whole was to be of white 
marble and was designed to be placed over the remains of Gen- 
eral Lee. 

The suggestions of Mrs. Lee, both as to the monument and 
as to the artist, having been cordially adopted by the Associa- 
tion, Mr. Valentine was, on November 24, 1870, requested to 
"prepare a design for the tomb of Gen. R. E. Lee, proposed 
to be erected, and an estimate of the probable cost of the same." 
Measures were also taken for collecting from the admirers of 
General Lee, the funds needed for erecting the monument. 
Liberal responses were received from a number of sources, 
among which was a donation of $1000 from W. W. Corcoran, 
Esq., of AVashington, and the Executive Committee became 
satisfied that the means needed for the work could be obtained. 

On June 23, 1871, Mr. Valentine, having completed a model 
of the proposed figure and sarcophagus, appeared before the 
Executive Committee and submitted it together with an esti- 
mate of cost. This latter amounted to $15,000. The model 
was approved and accepted, and Mr. Valentine was commis-- 
sioned' to go on with the work. 



By tlie fall of 1S72 Mr. Valentine had completed the cast of, 
the monument in plaster and was ready to put it into marble. 
Some $5,000 had up to this time been contributed to the Asso- 
ciation, and activ*e steps were now taken to collect the remain- 
der of the sum needed to secure the completion of the figure. 
The Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, at its 
meeting in Richmond, October 31, 1872, resolved : 

" That the sarcophagus now in course of preparation by our 
Virginian artist, Valentine, to be placed over the tomb of Lee, 
at Lexington, commends itself to especial favor as promising, 
from the beauty of the design, and the skill of the sculptor, to 
be a worth}' memorial of our departed chief. 

" That for the purpose of assuring and expediting the com- 
pletion of this noble work of art, to be placed, as a fitting token 
of a whole people's love and homage, above the ashes of their 
dead liero, we recommend to the ladies of the South to hold 
memorial meetings on the next anniversary of the birth of 
Gen. H. E. Lee, and to take such measures as shall to them 
seem best for collecting money on that day to be specially ap- 
propriated to the decoration of his tomb by the erection of the 
sarcophagus." 

The Memorial Association in an address united their voice 
with that of the Association of the A. N. V. 

The ladies of Lexington promptly responded by having a 
fair and a cantata in the winter of lS72-'3, the proceeds of 
wliich, amounting to over $800, were turned over to the Asso- 
ciation. This sum was still further increased by private sub- 
scriptions. The example thus set was followed in many other 
places. On the 20th January, 1873, contributions were made 
in a number of Southern cities and towns to the object of the 
Association. Li Savannah, Gen. Hampton, by invitation, de- 
livered a lecture upon Gen. Lee, which added over $500 to the 
funds of the x\ssociation. The ladies of Leesburg, Va., of 
Alexandria, Va., and of Palmyra, Missouri, sent handsome 
contributions. Similar responses came from many other places. 
During the spring and summer contributions continued to come 
in. Among these was a liberal donation of $500 from W. H. 



McLellan, Esq., of New Orleans. Admirers of Gen. Lee 
abroad also contributed liberally. Mr. W. T. McCanslane, of 
Glasgow, Scotland, took particular interest in the matter, and 
through his efforts nearly $700 were added to the funds of the 
Association. A considerable sum was realized from a steel 
engraving of Gen. Lee publislied by Bustwick & Co., of Cin- 
cinnati, and sold under the authority of the Association; also, 
from the sale of '' Personal Ileminiscences of Gen. Lee" by 
Rev. J. W. Jones, D. D., a part of the proceeds of which book 
M'cre turned over to the Executive Committee. 

An act incorporating the Association had been passed by the 
Virginia Legislature and approved January 14, 1871. By this 
it was enacted, ''That Wui. N. Pendleton, F. W. M. OoUiday, 

C. S. Venable, J. W. Massie, Cliarles A. Davidson, Wm. Mc- 
Laughlin, J. B. Dorman, Wm. Allan, Wm. P. Johnston, J. 0. 
Boude, J. J. White, A. Graham, Jr., Wm. Terry, Wm. A. 
Anderson, Jolm S. iI»Ios!)y, John Ejhols, Thos. S. Flournoy, 
Robert Stiles, James K. E Imondson, and such other persons 
as they shall associate with them, be and they are herel)y incor- 
porated by the name and style of The Lee Memorial Associa- 
tion." The usual corporate powers were confei-red upon them, 
and the officers of the corporation were to be "a president, 
fifteen vice-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and an e.Kecu- 
tive committee of nineteen members." The persons named 
above were declared the E.Kecutivc Committee, with fuJl powers 
to appoint officers and till vacancies. 

The Association organized under the charter May 31, 1873. 
At this meetino; Gen. Jos. E. Johnston was elected President 

CD 

of the Association to succeed Gen. John C. Breckenridge, who 
had died. Col. Bjlivar Christian and Capt. AValter Bowie were 
elected members of the Executive Committee in place of Col. 
J. W. Massie (deceased) and of CoL John S. Mosby (unable to 
serve). Gen. Pendleton was elected Chairman of the Execu' 
tive Committee, C. M. Figgat, Esq., Treasurer, and Capt. C. 
A. Davidson, Secretary. Subsequently the Rev. J. W, Jones, 

D. D., was made a member of the Executive Committee in 
place of Major Robt. Stiles. 



The funds coDtribiited up to this time were sufficient to jus- 
tify the committee in ordering the completion of the figure in 
marble, and in Julv, 1S73, tlie artist was instructed to go for- 
ward and finish Lis task. 

On April 1, 1S75, Mr. Valentine reported tlie work done, 
and the Association took steps to have the monument brought 
to Lexington. At this time tlie students of Richmond Col- 
lege made application for the "privilege of taking charge of 
the monument when it is sent up to Lexington, and bearing 
the expenses of its transportation." This kind and courteous 
proposal was cordially accepted by the Executive Committee, 
and the monument was brought by canal from Richmond un- 
der an escort of the students of Richmond College. The 
escort was composed of Messrs. J. T. E. Thornhill, W. M. 
Turpin, R. H. Pitt, A. M. Harris, H. C. Smith and J. W. 
Martin, of Virginia ; S. S. Woodward, of Xew Jersey ; R. T. 
Hanks, of Alabama, and C. N. Donaldson, of South Carolina. 
As* the figure was being taken from the artist's studio to the 
boat landing in Richmond, on April 13, a large number of the 
citizens of Richmond, headed by the students of Richmond 
College and the First Virginia Regiment, followed in proces- 
sion to honor the memory of Lee. The monument reached 
Lexington April 17, 1S75. Mr. Thornhill, in appropriate 
terms, delivered it to the committee, on whose behalf ex-Gov. 
John Letcher responded. Addresses were also made on this 
occasion by Lt. Gen. Early and Col. \V. Preston Johnston. 
The monument was temporarily stored in a room upon the 
grounds of Washington and Lee University, and confided, for 
the time, to the guardianship of the students of that institution. 

When the completion of the figure had been assured, the 
Executive Committee turned their attention to providing a 
suitable mausoleum in which it might be placed. Gen. R. D. 
Lilly was appointed agent to collect funds for this purpose in 
the winter of lS7i-5. Through his efforts a handsome sum 
was realized, and in February, 1875, a committee was appoint- 
ed to invite from architects designs for a suitable mausoleum. 



9 

The chairman of this committee, Prof. J. J. White, devoted 
iimch time and labor to conferences and correspondence with 
eminent architects on this subject; and many suggestions were 
proposed to the committee. Prominent among these was a 
design kindly presented in December, 1875, by Mr. J. L. 
Smithmeyer, of Washington, which seemed to the Executive 
Committee to be marked by such taste and beauty that it was 
determined to adopt it if the estimated cost should be found 
not greater than the sum the Association might expect to re- 
alize from contributions within a reasonable time. It was 
found, however, (in August, 1870,) when the plans and estimates 
were fully made, that the cost of this building would be $45,- 
000, which the committee deemed to be far in excess of their 
probable resources. Meantime donations had come in from 
various places. The ladies of Baltimore sent, in May, 1875, 
$1,319.82, the result of an entertainment given by them. Sub- 
sequently there came from Charleston, S. C, $1,107.11, and 
from ISTew Orleans, $1,548, from Mobile, $539.65, and valua- 
ble donations from Washington, D. C, Staunton, Va., and 
Camden, S. C. A handsome contribution (over $500) came 
from Texas, where Mr. J. S. Sullivan, of Galveston, displayed 
great and efficient interest in the matter. The committee were 
also indebted to Cyrus H. McCormick, Esq., of Chicago, for 
$500, and to W. A. Stuart, Esq., of Saltville, Ya., for $100, as 
well as to many other gentlemen for smaller sums. In the 
summer of 1876 it seemed to the Executive Committee, from 
their progress^ so far, that they might expect the contributions 
for a mausoleum to reach an aggregate of $10,000 or $15,000, 
but not more. They therefore laid aside Mr. Smithmeyer's 
plan and directed their committee to select one more in ac- 
cordance with their means. 

A year now passed, and in May, 1877, J. Crawford Xeilsou, 
Esq., a leading architect of Baltimore, offered to furnish a de- 
sign for the mausoleum. Mr. Neilson's kind offer was accept- 
ed and he was invited to visit Lexington. After full confer- 
ence and investigation Mr. Xeilson proposed as the design for 
the mausoleum a rectangular apse to be placed in the rear of 



10 

tlie cljapel of the University, where General Lee was buried. 
His plan was approved and adopted by the Association. As 
described at the time, it "consists of a fire proof apse, an ad- 
dition to the rear of the chapel, conforming in material and de- 
sign to the chapel itself. The lower story is a crypt of massive 
stone masonry, and the superstructure is built of brick. The 
interior is encrusted with brick and Cleveland stone, of sub- 
dued tints, and is lighted from above. The whole constitutes 
a solemn and tender memorial of the warrior who rests in 
peace beneath, surrounded by the ashes of those who were 
dearest on earth." 

[, Tlie ceremonies of laying tlie corner-stone took place on 
November 29, 1S7S. On tiiis occasion Prof. J.J. White made 
a statement of the work of tlie Association, and then introduced 
U. S. Senator R. E, Withers, who delivered an eloquent ad- 
dress. After this, Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, the President of the 
Association, assisted by the lion. J. llandolph Tucker, pro- 
ceeded to lay the corner-stone. This is on the northeast corner 
of the building, about ten feet above tlie ground. 

In Februar}^, 1879, the Association lost by death Capt. C. A. 
Davidson, its secretary, and one of the most active and efficient 
members of the Executive Committee. His contributions of 
time and money to the Association had been veiy liberal, his 
labors in its behalf earnest and useful, and these had extended 
over the entire period from its organization to his death. A. 
T. Barclaj', ensign 4th Va. Eegiment, was elected to fill the 
vacancy thus caused in the Executive Committee, and Capt. 
J. C. Boude was appointed secretarj'. 

In January, 1879, a statement of the condition of the work 
was prepared by Col. W. Preston Johnston, and published, and 
additional subscriptions were asked for to complete it. Among 
the generous responses was that of W. W. Corcoran, Esq., who 
having heretofore given $1,000 for the figure, now added $1,000 
for the mausoleum. Moro Philips, Esq., of Philadelphia, 
donated |500, and Geo. W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, W. 
C. Hives, Esq., and F. R. Rivers, Esq., of New York, Robt. 
Garrett, Esq., of Baltimore, Hon. Wm. Milnes, Hon. J. R. 



11 

Tucker, Prof. C. A. Graves, Jno. D. Sterrett, Esq., and Col. J. 
D. H. Ross, of Virginia, and Col. R. G. Cole, of Georgia, each 
$100. Several of the resident members of the Executive Com- 
mittee had each contributed previously $100. A considerable 
amount was added by means of musical entertainments kindly 
given by the ladies of Lexington, under the direction of Mrs. 
Judge McLaughlin. Additions were also made to the funds 
through some entertainments given at different places by Profs. 
Cromwell and Wheeler. 

The building of the mausoleum was carried forward during 
1879 and 1880, but the funds of the Association became ex- 
hausted before the iron roof and the interior were complete. 

Li the spring of 1882 the Association made a proposition to 
the trustees of Wasliington and Lee University, on the grounds 
of which the mausoleum stands, offering to transfer the build- 
ing and monument to them in perpetual trust npon their com- 
pleting the mausoleum. From a statement embodied in this 
proposition, it appeared that the Association had collected and 
expended between $23,000 and $24,000 upon the figure and 
mausoleum, and that $5,000 were needed in addition to com- 
])lete the entire work. This proposal was accepted by the 
trustees of the University on April 11, 1882, and the necessary 
appropriation made. The agreement provided : "That upon 
the completion of the mausoleum and its inauguration under 
the auspices of this Association the title to, and the care and 
custody of, both the mausoleum and the marble statue of 
General Lee shall be vested in the corporation of Washington 
and Lee University, upon the sacred trust that the mausoleum 
shall be preserved as a perpetual place of sepulture for the re- 
mains of Gen. R. E. Lee, and of Mrs. Lee, and of such other 
members of their family as it maybe the pleasure of the family 
to have interred there, and that the building and statue shall 
receive from the authorities of the University such care and 
attention from time to time as shall be needful for their preser- 
vation ; and upon the further trust that neither the mausoleum, 
nor the ground upon which it is erected, nor the statue and 
appurtenances of the mausoleum, shall ever be in any way, or 



J'2 

to any extent, liable for any claiin against, or deLt of said Uni- 
versity, or be cliarged with an^^ mortgage, deed of trust, or 
other encumbrance.'' 

The Executive Committee of the Lee Memorial Association 
thus finally secured the completion of their labor of love. For 
twelve years it had been in progress. Many doubts had at 
times discouraged, many difficulties had delayed them, but the 
satisfaction now derived from a certainty of success more than 
compensated for all these. Measures were taken for the com- 
pletion of the building and the placing of the figure, and the 
28th of June, 1883, was selected as the day for unveiling it to 
the public. 

In accordance with a long cherished design, tlie Hon. Jeffer- 
son Davis, the former President of the Confederate States, was 
invited to deliver on that day an address upon General Lee's 
military career. The Hon. Jno. AV. Daniel, of Yirginia, was 
invited to deliver, on the same occasion, an address on General 
Lee's life and character as a citizen and civilian. Ex-President 
Davis, though deeplj^ interested in the occasion and anxious to 
do all in his power to honor the memory of Lee, was finally 
forced by advancing years and precarious health to decline, and 
to Major Daniel was committed the whole of the splendid 
theme. 

\J The mausoleum was complete, the monument had been put 
in place, and the committee looked forward with pleasure to 
the day M'hich should witness the end of their work and the 
unveiling of the figure to the public. Ere this day arrived, 
however, their venerable chairman. Gen. W. N". Pendleton, 
was summoned to join his great commander. His death on 
January 15, 1883, closed a long and distinguished career of hon- 
orable service to his generation, both in war and peace. He 
acted as Chairman of the Executive Committee of this Associ- 
ation, from its organization, for more than twelve years, and 
was most zealous and active in promoting its objects. The 
various relations in which he had stood to General Lee, inten- 
sified his interest in the purposes of the Association, and no 
one worked more earnestly for their attainment. 



13 

Judge Wm. JVLeLaughlin was elected chairman to fill the 
place left vacant by the death of General Pendleton. 

The iinal arrangements having been completed under the 
supervision of the architect, Mr. Xeilson, and the artist, Mr. 
Valentine, the monument was formally transferred to the As- 
sociation by Mr. Valentine on May 7, lS83,'and was accepted 
on their behalf bv the lion. AV". A, Anderson, who in fittino- 
terms gave expression to the appreciation and admiration felt 
by all present as they looked upon the beautiful creation of the 
genius of Valentine and realized the perfection of the arrange- 
ments made by the skill and taste of Mr. Neilson for its pre- 
servation and display. 

The dimensions of the mausoleum on the ground plan are 
31x36 feet. The lower story, which is constructed of coraline 
limestone to correspond with the basement of the chapel, is a 
crypt containing cells or receptacles for twenty-eight bodies. 
Three of these contain the ashes of Gen, R. E. Lee, Mrs. Mary 
Custis Lee, and Miss Agnes Lee. x\d joining the crypt, but 
underneath the chapel, is. the room used as an ofHce by General 
Lee during the later years of his presidency of Washington 
College, which is preserved as he left it on the day he was 
taken ill. 

The chamber containing the monument is directly over the 
crypt and is of brick like the corresponding part of the chapel, 
'' The floor of the chamber is tessellated with white-veined 
marble and encaustic tiles. The walls consist of panels of 
grayish Indiana marble enframed in dark Baltimore pressed 
brick, and surmounted by semicircular compartments which 
can be used for hasso-rilievo medallions. In one of these com- 
partments, immediately facing the chapel, is inscribed the 
name of General Lee, together with the dates of his birth and 
death. Immediately around the base of the sarcophagus is a 
border of dark tiling. The tessellated floor is on the level of 
the platform of the chapel, which is raised three feet above 
the floor of the audience chamber. 

" The figure and couch, which are of statuary marble, are 



14 

mounted on a sarcophagus simple almost to severity in its 
order, and which rests on a granite base course. The sides of 
the sarcophagus are composed of two marble panels each, the 
space between the panels bearing, in hasso-rilievo^ on the one 
side the Lee coat of arms, and on the other the arms of Vir- 
ginia. The head and foot consist of one panel each, the former 
being ornamented by a simple cross, the latter bearing the 
legend : 

ROBERT EDWARD LEE. 

Born 

January 19, 1807; 

Died 
October 12, 1870. 

" The figure is over life size, and rests upon a heavily draped 
couch in an attitude of easy repose, tlie head being elevated to 
a natural position, with the face turned slightly to the right. 
The feet are lightly crossed. The right forearm lies across the 
breast — the hand holding by simple weight tlie blanket which 
covers the lower part of the body — wliile the left arm is fully 
extended along the couch, this hand holding the hilt of a 
I sword." The contour of tlie limbs is easily discerned through 
' the covering which falls over the lower part of the body. 

An anti-chamber connects the monument chamber with the 
chapel and is separated from the former by iron doors. A 
large arched opening, heavily curtained, leads from the cliapel 
into this anti-chamber. The monument is so placed and the 
light, which falls from the roof, so arranged, that when the 
curtains are drawn and the iron doors open, the figure can be 
seen from nearly every part of the floor and galleries of the 
chapel. 

The 28th of June, the day for the public opening of the 
^ mausoleum, was the day after the Commencement of Wash- 
ington and Lee University, the exercises of which had already 
drawn many persons to Lexington. In addition to these a 
much larger concourse'of ex-Confederate soldiers gathered from 
every quarter on the day itself. All old Confederates and all 
admirers of General Lee were invited to attend, and special 
cards were sent to all former cabinet officers of the Confederate 



15 

States, the general oflScers of the Confederate army, the princi- 
pal officers of the Confederate navy, the members of General 
Lee's staff, the Governors of the Southern States, tlie execu- 
tive and judicial officers of Virginia, and the representatives in 
Congress and the Senators from Virginia. No effort was 
spared hy the people of Lexington and Rockbridge county to 
honor the day. Business was suspended, and the people devo- 
ted themselves to the exercises of the day, and to entertaining 
the crowds that came from a distance. Special trains on the 
Richmond & Alleghany and the Shenandoah Valley railroads 
brought numbers from every point within reach. A large 
number of the survivors of the Stonewall Brigade, as well as 
of other commands of the Army of Northern Virginia, were 
present. Prominent among those on the ground were the 
Maryland Line, consisting of the survivors of the soldiers and 
sailors of that State, who had served in the Confederate army 
and navy. Besides residents of the town and count}', there 
were present among the distinguished persons from a distance. 
Gen. Wade Hampton, Gen. J. A. Earlj^, Gen. Fitz. Lee, Gen. 
W. IL F. Lee, Gen. Wm. Terry, Gen. Geo. H. Steuart, Gen. 
M. D. Corse, Gen. R. D. Lilly, Col. Wm. Xorris, Chief of the 
Confederate Signal Bureau, Col. H. E. Peyton and Col. T. M. 
R. Talcott, of General Lee's Staff, Col. W.^H. Palmer, of Gen. 
A. P. Hill's Staff, Capt. R. E. Lee, Capt. J. H. 11 . Figgat, 
Maj. E. L. Rogers, Judge H. W. Bruce, Judge J. IL Fulton, 
Hon. C. R. Breckinridge of Arkansas, Fatlier Ryan, Rev. Dr. 
Alexander, Leigh Robinson, Esq., John J. Williams, Esq., C. 
W. Button, Esq., and D. Gardner Tyler, Esq. Mrs. Gen, 
Stonewall Jackson, Mrs. Gen. J. E. B. Stewart, Mrs. Gen. 
Geo. E. Pickett and Mrs. Carlisle (formerly Mrs. Gen. Geo. B. 
Anderson), were also present. The venerable philanthropist, 
W. W. Corcoran, Esq,, of AVashington, and j;he venerable ex- 
Gov. Wm. Smith, of Virginia, honored the occasion by their 
presence. 

In the morning a procession was formed under General 
Hampton as chief marshall, which visited the grave of Stone- 
wall Jackson in the Lexington Cemetery. Here were seen 



16 

many toncliing evidences of the devotion of his people to this 
great soldier. The soldiers of the Maryland Line, under Gen. 
G. H. Steu;\rt, who had shared in many of Jackson's cam- 
paigns, brought a liandsome bronze tablet inscribed with the 
arms of Maryland, wliicli they placed at the head of his grave. 
Tiie grave itself was covered with flowers and immortelles 
placed there by a number of ladies under the direction of Miss 
Edmonia Waddell. The railing around it was similarly deco- 
rated, and at each corner was a shield surrounded by an ever- 
green wreath, and containing a motto furnished by Mrs. Mar- 
garet J. Preston. These mottoes were : 

1. " Faith that could not fail nor yield, 
Was the legend of his shield." 

"Port Republic." 

2. " From the land for which he hied, 
Honor to the warrior dead." 

"Manassas." 

3. " From the field of death and fame. 
Borne upon his shield he came." 

" Chancellorsville." 

• 4. " In the Valley let me lie, 

Underneath God's open sky." 

"Lexington." 

More precious still was the silent tear which forced its way 
to the eye of many an old soldier as the green grave brought 
the scenes of twenty years ago before his sight. Among the 
beautiful incidents of tlie day^was the following : The daugh- 
ter of Ex-President Davis, Miss Winnie Davis, had sent to 
General Early two floral designs composed entirely of immor- 
telles and made to represent the Confederate battle flag. They 
were exquisite in design and finish. One was intended for the 
grave of Lee and the other for that of Jackson, General Early 
selected Miss Carrie W, Daniel, the little ten-year-old daughter 
of the orator of the day, to place the tribute upon Jackson's 
grave. The tomb of Lee had been beautifully decorated with 
evergreens and flowers bj^ a committee of the ladies of Lex- 
ington under the direction of Mrs. Gen. Edwin G. Lee, Amid 
these decorations was placed the Confederate battle flag in iin- 
mortelles. After the ceremonies of the day were over, many 
a bronzed and gray-headed soldier might have been seen culling 



17 

some of these beautiful immortelles from the graves of Lee 
and Jackson to commit as a sacred memento to the keeping of 
his children. 

The procession returned from the cemetery to the grounds 
of Washington and Lee University, where in front of the 
cliapel a stand and seats had been placed for the accommoda- 
tion of the audience and speaker. The day was a propitious 
one. It was rainless, cool and bright. By 11 o'clock a mass 
of from 8,000 to 10,000 people filled the grounds. As many 
of them as could get within sound of the orator's voice gath- 
ered about the stand, and listened Mnth absorl^ed attention. In 
tiie absence of Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, who was detained at 
home by serious illness, Lt.-General Earl}^, the first Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Association, presided. After prayer by the Rev. 
R. J. McBryde, Gen. Early introduced Maj. Daniel, who for 
three hours held his audience b}' the spell of his eloquence, 
moving it now to applause, and now to tears. At the close of 
the speech. Gen. Early called upon Father Ryan to recite his 
poem, " The Sword of Lee." As the poet's voice gradually 
rose and spread over the throng the intense emotion with which 
his form and his words were filled spread too, and fairly thrilled 
the great audience. 

The moment for the unveiling of the figure was then an- 
nounced by a salute fired by the survivors of the "Rockbridge 
Artillei'y," who used for the purpose two guns which had con- 
stituted a part of their armament at the first battle of Manas- 
sas. These guns were part of the cadet battery used by 
Stonewall Jackson when a professor at the Virginia Military 
Institute, and are now again in the keeping of that Institution. 
Some fifty of tlie former members of this famous artillery com- 
pany had assembled for the occasion, and under Col. Wm. T. 
Poague, who had long been their captain, for a few moments 
resumed their former organization and duties. What memo- 
ries of the past, what deeds of daring, and what days of toil, 
what moving incidents of camp and field did the sound of 
those guns recall as those old soldiers looked into the faces or 
grasped the hands they had not seen or felt for eighteen years ! 



18 

As the guns opened fire the chapel and mausoleum were 
thrown open, the ligure was unveiled by Miss Julia Jackson, 
(daughter of Stonewall Jackson.) and the vast throng began to 
move through the building to view it. For many hours the 
current continued its steady flow, and indeed only ceased at 
nightfall. Meantime the hospitable town and county was en- 
tertaining the crowd of strangers. The houses of citizens of 
the town were everywhere thrown open, and handsome enter- 
tainments were provided at many of them. In addition to this, 
a lunch, provided by the citizens of the county and town, was 
served on the University grounds to several thousand people. 

The evening fell upon a day forever marked in the annals of 
Lexington. It was felt by all that Yalentine's chisel had cre- 
ated a worthy memorial of Lee, and that Daniel, in words not 
less fitting had committed it to the keeping of the future. 

With this day closed the active labors of the Lee Memorial 
Association. It only remained for them to complete the 
transfer of the mausoleum and monument to the perpetual care 
of Washington and Lee University, and to return thanks to 
the generous friends, who had by their contributions, rendered 
possible a noble work. They placed on record, in fitting terms, 
their high appreciation of the valuable services (services ren- 
dered as a labor of love) of their treasurer, C. M. Figgat, Esq.; 
of the skill and taste of J. Crawford Neilson, Esq., who placed 
liis architectural experience gratuitously at the service of the 
Association in "designing and superintending the construc- 
tion of the mausoleum"; of the splendid success of the artist's 
work, and of the oration of Major Daniel, '' which can receive 
no higher, no juster commendation, than that it is worth}^ of its 
great subject." 

A great name is passing into history. As the smoke of con- 
flict and passion passes away the world is beginning to recog- 
nize the outlines of a character in which capacity of the first 
rank was harmoniously united with virtue of the highest order; a 
character equally grand in victory and defeat. The Lee Memorial 
Association have not looked uj)oii their work as needful to 



19 

preserve the fame or extend tlie influence of Lee, but have 
deemed it both a duty and a privilege to testify to coming gen- 
erations the genuine affection, admiration and homage with 
which his countrymen and contemporaries regard the man, 
who seems to them the foremost of his time in those great 
qualities which best deserve the respect and veneration of 
mankind. 



PROGRAMME OF CEREMONIES 

AT THE 

Inauguration of the Lee Mausoleum, 

Lexington, Virginia, June 28, 1883. 



The following gentlemen were requested to act as Marshals 
and assistant Marshals, and to aid in the orderly conduct of tlie 
ceremonies of the day ; and all persons were requested to re- 
spect their authority as such : 

Chief Marshal — Lieutenant-General Wade Hampton. 

Marshah—Gen. R. D. Lilly, Col. W. T. Poague, Col. John 
A. Gibson, Col. J. D. li. Eoss, Maj. Cliarles F. Jordan, Maj. 
S. W. Paxton, Mr. John T. Dunlop, Mr. W. F. Johnston, Mr. 
Wm. M. Dunlap, Mr. Harry E. Moore, Mr. W. B. F. Leech, 
Mr. S. H. I-etcher, Mr. J. E. McCanley, Capt. J. H. H. Figgat, 
Capt. T. C. Morton, Capt. Jas. A. Strain, Capt. J. G. Updike, 
Dr. Z. J. Walker, Capt. William Wade, Capt. J. P. Moore, 
Lieut. J. H. P. Jones, Mr. P. T. McLeod, Capt. W. F. Pier- 
son, Mr. W. B. Poindexter. 

Chief of Assistant Marshals — Mr. E. C. Day, of Kentucky. 

Assistant Marshals — Mr. J. M. Becker, Pennsylvania ; Mr. 
R. Godson, Kentucky ; Mr. L. L. Campbell, Virginia, Mr. H. 
D. Flood, Vii'ginia ; Mr. J. T. Bngg, Louisiana; Mr. G. 
O'Bierne, West A'^irginia ; Mr. II. MeCrum, Virginia. 

ORDER OF EXERCISES. 
1):30 A. M. to 10:30 A. M.— Decoration of the Tomb of Lcc 

and Grave of fJaekson. 
10:30 A. M.— Music on the Grounds of Washington and Lee 

University by the Virginia Military Institute band and 

visiting bands. 
11 A. M.— Prayer by the Rev. R..I. McBryde, Rector of Grace 

Memorial Churcii. 



21 

MUSIC. 

11:15 A. M. -Oration hy Maj. Jolm W. Daniel. 

MUSIC. 

2 p. M. — Figure of J. ee luiveiled, niommieutal chaiuher thrown 

open, and procession around the Figure. 

3 P. M. — Collation provided by the citizens of Rockbridge 

and Lexington for Confederate veterans and military 
companies. 
Seats will be set apart and reserved in front of the stand fur 
military companies, societies, and organized bodies of veterans, 
of whose coming the Committee may have due notice. 

The platform to the right of the stand M'ill be set apart for 
representatives of the press. The other two small platforms 
are for the musicians of the V. M. I. band and visiting bands. 
The seats upon the main stand will be reserved for : 
I. Generals of the Confederate States Army and officers of 
the ConfQderate States Navy. 
11. Officers of the general Gov^ernment of the Confederate 
States. 

III. The Governor of Virginia and members of the present 

State Government. 

IV. Governors of any of the States of tiie Union, members 

of the Senate or House of Kepresentatives of the Uni- 
ted States. 
y. Members of the Board ofj Trustees and Faculty of 
Washington and Lee University. 
VI. Members of the Board of Visitors and Faculty of the 

Virginia MiHtary Institute. 
VIL Specially invited guests. 
VIII. Members of tlie Lee Meniorial Association. 
By order of the Executive Committee, 

WILLIAM McLaughlin, 

C/iair?nan, 
WILLIAM A. ANDERSON, 

Chairman of Committee of Arrangements. 

JOHN C. BOUDE, 
Seo'y Ex. Com. Lee Memorial Association^ 



When the procession had retnrned from Jackson's grave to 
the grounds of Washington and Lee Universitj, and those form- 
ing it ]]ad taken tlie seats assigned them, the exercises were 
opened by the Kev, R. J. McBrjde, rector of Grace Memorial 
Church, Lexington, Va., who offered the following prayer : 

Almighty and Everlasting God — the King of Kings and 
Lord of Lords ! — our help in ages past, our hope for years to 
come — to Thee glory belongeth. Thou only art worthy to be 
praised. 

For Thou art from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art 
gracious and full of compassion ; Thou art good to all, and Thy 
tender mercies are over all Thy works. 

We praise Thee, O God ; we acknowledge Thee to be the 
Lord. In Thee w^e live and move, and have our being. 

We would render unto Thee most humble and hearty thanks 
for the goodly heritage Thou hast given us in this land of civil 
and religious freedom, for the peace and prosperity within our 
borders, and for all the innumerable manifestations of Thy 
goodness towards us. 

We would also recognize that it is our duty and privilege to 
begin, continue, and end all our works in Thee. And there- 
fore this day, and upon this occasion, we would realize that 
"promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West 
nor from the South. God is the judge ; lie putteth down one 
and setteth up another." Then praise to Thee alone, thou 
Great Creator, for the leader and commander of this people, 
whose memory we seek to preserve and whose name we honor 
to day ! To Thee be all the glory for what he was and is to 
us. O, God, Thou wast his God ; his soul followed hard after 
Thee ; Thy right hand upheld him. lie was not ashamed to 
confess the faith of Christ crueitied and manfully to fight un- 
der His banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to be 
Christ's faithful soldier and servant. .And we pray Thee that 
the influence of his life and the power of his example may 
never die out in the land. May a double portion of his spirit 
fall on his peo2)le, whom he loved, for whom he made such 
sacrifices, and for whom he labored with unwearied fidelity. 



28 

Ma}' they reverence Thy name ; may thev retain Thee in 
their thoughts ; may they ever live in obedience to Thy laws 
as did Thine honored servant ; may they follow him as he fol- 
lowed Christ ; may they love that Word which he believed, 
and uphold the faith which he confessed ; may the well-being 
of our people enlist our al)ilities as it did his; may we, like 
him, seek to make the world the better for our living in it. As 
lie was " subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's 
sake," so make us to be more and more a law-abiding people, 
in obedience to Thy will. Give lis a like patience under afflic- 
tions, and a like cheerful resignation to Thy blessed will, and 
l)y well-doing " may we put to silence the ignorance of foolish 
men." 

Kegard with Thy favor and visit with Thy blessing this in- 
stitution of which he was the honored head, and secure to it 
the patronage needful to the carrying of its designs into good 
effect. And finally, when we shall have served Thee in our 
generation, may we, like him, be gathered unto our fathers, 
having the testimony of a good conscience, in the communion 
of the catholic church, in the confidence of a certain faith, in 
the comfort of a reasonable, religions, and holy hope, in favor 
with Thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All 
of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

General Early then arose and spoke as follows: 

Friends^ Comi^ades and Felloio- Citizens, Ladies and Gentle- 
men : 

The sickness of Gen. Josej)!! E. Johnston, the distinguished 
President of the Lee Memorial Association, which prevents his 
attendance here, has devolved on me, as First Yice-President, 
the unexpected duty of presiding on this occasion ; and I am 
sure no one can regret tlie cause of this change in the pro- 
gramme more than I do. 

The great commander of the Army of Northern Virginia 
died on the 12th of October, 1870, and as soon as his remains 
were consigned to the tomb, a meeting of the citizens of Lex- 
ington was held, and steps taken for the formation of an Asso- 



24 

ciation to erect a monument to his memory. More effectually 
to carry out that purpose, an act of incorporation was obtained 
from the Legislature of Virginia on the lith of January, 1871, 
by which certain gentlemen, most of whom were residents of 
Lexington, and such other persons as they should associate with 
themselves, were incorporated by the name and style of " The 
Lee Memorial Association." Subsequently the Association was 
further organized by the appointment of Gen. John C, Breck- 
inridge, of Kentucky, who had been the last Secretary of War 
of the Confederate States, as President, and of fifteen Vice- 
Presidents, as also a Treasurer, — the nineteen persons named 
in the act of incorporation, by the terms of the act itself, con- 
stituting the Executive Committee. The chairman of that 
Committee was Gen. Wm, N. Pendleton, the distinguished 
Chief of x\rtillery of the Army of Northern Virginia, and 
the Secretary was Captain Charles A. Davidson, a gallant offi- 
cer of the First Virginia Battalion. 

The act of incorporation does not specify the place at which 
the proposed monument should be erected, nor the nature of 
it; but, after the passage of the act changing the name of 
Washington College to that of Washington and Lee Uni- 
versity, it was determined by the Executive Committee, with 
the sanction of the authorities of the University, that the 
monument should consist of a Mausoleum, attached to the Uni- 
versity Chapel, which latter had been constructed under the 
supervision of General Lee himself, where his remains should 
be deposited in a vault, to be surmounted by a recumbent figure 
in marble, representing our great chieftain at rest — it being 
part of the plan to provide vaults also in the same Mausoleum 
for the immediate members of his family, especially the esti- 
mable and noble lady who had been his partner in life. 

The resident members of the Executive Committee pro- 
ceeded to carry out this scheme with great energy and perse- 
verance, in which the Chairman and Secretary were especially 
conspicuous. A distinguished Virginia artist was selected to 
execute in marble the recumbent figure, and years ago he com-" 
pleted his work in a manner that links his name forever with 
that of Lee. 



25 

Upon the death of General Breckinridge, General Joseph 
. E. Johnston, the senior surviving officer of the Confederate 
Army, and the predecessor of General Lee in command of 
that army, wliich, under the lead of the latter, became so re- 
nowned as the Army of Northei-n Virginia, was made the 
President. 

On the 29th of November, 1878, the corner-stone of the 
Mausoleum was laid, under the superintendence of a distin- 
guished architect of Baltimore, who was charged with its con- 
struction. The requisite funds have beeii raised by great 
exertion, a large part having been contributed in small sums. 
The noble work has now been completed, and we are as- 
sembled here to perform the crowning act, in unveiling the 
recumbent figure of one of the grandest and noblest heroes, 
soldiers, and patriots, who have figured in all the history of the 
world. In doing this, we are not conferring honor on the mem- 
ory of General Robert E. Lee — we are merelv demonstrating 
to the world that we were worthy to have been the followers 
and compatriots of such a man. Unfortunately, neither the 
gallant soldier and Christian gentleman, Gen. Pendleton, Chair- 
man of the Executive Committee, nor the gallant Davidson, the 
efficient Secretary of that Committee, have survived to witness 
the completion of the work, to the success of which they con- 
tributed so largely. 

It is deeply to be regretted that President Davis, who was 
expected to deliver an address on this occasion, has been pre- 
vented by circumstances from being present, but his lovely and 
accomplished young daughter, whose pride it is to have been 
born on the soil of Virginia, has sent from his Southern home 
two Confederate flags made of immortelles, and two bay 
wreaths, one of each to be placed on the tombs of Generals Lee 
and Jackson, respectively, as tokens of her admiration for their 
great characters, and of the sympathy of her family Avitli us. 
There is also another whose absence is to be deeply regretted, 
though he is nearly within reach of my voice — I mean that 
war Governor of Virginia, who conferred upon Generals Lee 
and Jackson the commissions which brought them into the ser- 



§6 

vice of their native State, in defence of I'ight, justice, liberty, 
and independence ; and who sustained them throughout, 
whether they M'ere in tlie State or Confederate service, with 
such unswerving fidelity and unselfish devotion — you must 
know that I can mean no other than John Letcher, with whom 
we all so heartily sympathize in the bodily affliction which 
alone prevents him from being with us. 

And now permit me to introduce to you, as the orator of the 
, occasion, Major John W. Daniel, who needs no words of 
commendation from me, but will speak for himself. 

Major Daniel was received witli rounds of applause. When 
this had subsided he delivered the following oration : 

ADDRESS OF JOHN W. DANIEL, LL. D. 

Mr. President^ My Comrades and Countrymen : 

There was no happier or lovelier home than that of Colonel 
Kobert Edward Lee, in the spring of ISGl, when for the first 
time its threshold was darkened with the omens of civil war. 

Crowning the green slo23es of the Virginia Hills that over- 
look the Potomac, and embowered in stately trees, stood the 
venerable mansion of Arlington, facing a prospect of varied 
and imposing beauty. Its broad porch, and wide-spread wings, 
held out open arms, as it were, to welcome the coming guest. 
Its simple Doric columns graced domestic comfort w^ith a 
classic air. Its halls and chambers were adorned with the por- 
traits of patriots and heroes, and with illustrations and relics 
of the great revolution, and of the Father of his country 
And within and without, history and tradition seemed to 
breathe their legends upon a canvass as soft as a dream of 
peace. 

The noble river, which in its history, as well as in its name, 
carries us back to the days when the red man trod its banks, 
sweeps in full and even flow along the forefront of the land- 
scape; while bej-ond its waters stretch the splendid avenues 
and rise the gleaming spires of Washington ; and over all, the 



^7 

great white dome of the National Capital looms up against the 
eastern ekj, like a glory in the air. 

Southward and westward, toward the blue rim of tlie Alle- 
ghanies, roll away the pine and oak clad hills, and the fields of 
the " Old Dominion," dotted here and there with the homes of 
a people of simple tastes and upright minds, renowned for 
their devotion to their native land, and for their fierce love of 
liberty; a people who had drunk into their souls with their 
mother's milk, that Man is of right, and onglit to be, free. 

On the one hand there was impressed upon the most casual 
eye that contemplated the pleasing prospect, the munificence 
and grandeur of American progress, the arts of industry and 
commerce, and the symbols of power. On the other hand, 
Nature seemed to m'oo the heart back to her sacred haunts, 
with vistas of sparkling waters, and verdant pastures, and many 
a wildwood scene ; and to penetrate its deepest recesses with 
the halcyon charm that ever lingers about the thought of 
Ilome. 

THE HOST OF ARLINGTON. 

The head of the house established here was a man whom 
Nature had richly endowed with graces of person, and high 
qualities of head and heart. Fame had already bound his 
brow with her laurel, and Fortune had poured into his lap her 
golden horn. Himself a soldier, and Colonel* in the army of 
the United States, the son of the renowned " Light Horse 
liarry Lee," who was the devoted friend and compati-iot of 
Washington in tlie revolutionary struggle, and whose memora- 
ble eulogy u]ion his august Chief has become his epitapli ; — 
descended indeed from a long line of illustrious progenitors, 
whose names are written on the brightest scrolls of English 
and American history, from the conquest of the Norman at 
Hastings, to the triumph of the Continentals at Yorktown, — 
he had already established his own martial fame at Yera Cruz, 
Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, Chepul- 
tepec and Mexico, and had proved how little he depended upon 
any merit but his own. Such was his early distinction, that 

Appointed Colonel March 16th, 1861. 



£>8 

when but a Caj^tain, the Cuban Junta had offered to make liini 
the leader of their revolutionary movement for the independ- 
ence of Cuba ; — a position which as an American officer, he 
felt it his duty to decline. And so deep was the impression 
made of his genius and his valor, that General Scott, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army in which he served, had declared 
that he " was the best soldier he ever saw in the field," " the 
greatest military genius in America," that " if opportunity 
offered, he would show himself the foremost Captain of his 
times," and that " if a great battle were to be fought for the 
liberty or slavery of the countr}-, his judgment was that the 
commander should be Robert Lee." 

Wedded to her who had been the playmate of his boyhood, 
and who was worthy in every relation to be the companion of 
his bosom, sons and daughters had risen up to call them 
blessed, and there, decorated with his country's honors and sur- 
rounded by " love, obedience, and troops of friends," the host 
of Arlington seemed to have filled the measure of generous 
desire with whatever of fame or happiness fortune can add to 
virtue. And had the pilgrim started in quest of some happier 
spot than the Vale of Rasselas, well might he have paused by 
this threshold and doffed his " sandal shoon." 

THE ANTECEDENTS OF fOLONEL LEE. 

So situated was Colonel Lee in the spring of 1861, upon the 
verge of the momentous revolution, of which he became so 
mighty a pillar and so glorious a chieftain. But we cannot 
estimate the struggle it cost him to take up arms against the 
Union— nor the sacrifice he made, nor the pure devotion with 
which he consecrated his sword to his native State — without 
looking beyond his physical surroundings, and following fur- 
ther the suggestions of his history and character, for the springs 
of action which prompted his course. Colonel Lee was em- 
phatically a Union man ; and Virginia, to the crisis of dissolu- 
tion, was a Union State. He loved the Union with a soldier's 
ardent loyalty to the Government he served, and with a patriot's 
faith and hope in the institutions of his country. His ances- 



29 

tors had been among the most distinguished and revered of its 
founders; his own life from youth upward had been spent and 
his blood shed in its service, and two of his sons, following his 
footsteps, held commissions in the army. 

He was born in the same county, and descended from the 
same strains of English blood from which Washington sprang, 
and was united in marriage with Mary Custis, the daughter of 
his adopted son. He had been reared in the school of simple 
manners and lofty thoughts which belonged to the elder gene- 
ration ; and with Washington as his exemplar of manhood and 
his ideal of wisdom, he reverenced his character and fame and 
work with a feeling as near akin to worship as any that man 
can have for aught that is human. 

Unlike the statesmen of the hostile sections, who were con- 
stantly thrown into the provoking conflicts of political debate, 
he had been withdrawn by his military occupations from scenes 
calculated to irritate or chill his kindly feelings toward the 
people of the North ; and on the contrary — in camp, and field, 
and social circle — lie had formed many ties of friendship with 
its most esteemed soldiers and citizens. With the reticence 
becoming his military office, he had taken no part in the con- 
troversies which preceded the fatal rupture between the States 
— other than the good man's part, to " speak the soft answer 
that turns away wrath," and to plead for that forbearance and 
patience which alone might bring about a peaceful solution of 
the questions at issue. 

Years of his professional life he had spent in Northern com- 
munities, and, always a close observer of men and things, he 
well understood the vast resources of that section, and the 
hardy, industrious, and resolute character of its people ; and he 
justly weighed their strength as a military power. When men 
spoke of how easily the South would repel invasion he said : 
" You forget that we are all Americans." And when they 
prophesied a battle and a peace, he predicted that it would take 
at least four years to fight out the impending confiict. None 
was more conscious than he that each side undervalued and 
misunderstood each other. He was, moreover, deeply imbued 



30 

with the philosophy of history, and the course of its evolutions, 
and well knew that in an upheaval of government deplorable 
results would follow, which were not thought of in the begin- 
ning, or, if thought of, would be disavowed, belittled and 
deprecated. And eminently conservative in his cast of mind 
and character, every bias of his judgment, as every tendency of 
his history, filled him with yearning and aspiration for tlie peace 
of his country and the perpetuity of the Union. Is it a won- 
der, then, as the storm of revolution lowered. Colonel Lee, 
then with his regiment, the Second Cavalrj^ in Texas, wrote 
thus to his son in January, 18G1 : 

"The South, in my opinion, has been aggrieved by the acts 
of the North as you say. I feel the aggression, and am will- 
ing to take any proper steps for redress. It is the principle I 
contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an American 
citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and 
institutions, and would defend any State if her rights were 
invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the 
country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an 
accumulation of all evils we complain of, and I am willing to 
sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, 
therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before 
there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. 
* * Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and 
bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place 
of love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for 
my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If 
the Union is dissolved, and the government is disrupted, I shall 
return to my native State and share the miseries of my people, 
and, save in defence, will draw my sword on none." 

WAR. 

A few weeks later Colonel Lee was ordered, and came to 
Washington, reaching there three days before the inauguration 
of President Lincoln. At that time South Carolina, Missis- 
sippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, had already 
seceded from the Union, and the Provisional Government of 
the Confederate States was in operation at MontgouKTy. 



31 

The Yirginia Convention was in session, but slow and delib- 
erate in its course. The State which had done so much to 
found the Union was loth to assent to its dissolution, and still 
guided by the wise counsels of such men as llobert E. Scott, 
Robert Y. Conrad, Jubal A. Early, John B. Baldwin, Samuel 
McDowell Moore, and A. II. II. Stuart, she persisted in efforts 
to avert the calamity of wan Events followed swiftly. The 
Peace Conference had failed. Overtures for the peaceful 
evacuation of Fort Sumpter had likewise failed. On the 13th 
of April, under bombardment, the Federal Commander, Major 
Anderson, with its garrison, surrendered. On April 15th 
President Lincoln issued his proclamation for 75,000 men to 
make war against the seceded States, which he styled : " Com- 
binations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course 
of judicial proceedings." This proclamation determined Vir- 
ginia's course. War had come. Her mediation had been in 
vain. She was too noble to be neutral. 

Of the arts of duplicity she knew nothing save to despise. 
She must now level her guns against the breasts of her South- 
ern brethren, or make her own breast their shield. On April 
17th Virginia answered Mr. Lincoln's proclamation with the 
Ordinance of Secession, and like Pallas- Athene, " the front 
fighter" stepped with intrepid brow to where, in conflict, his- 
tory has ever found her — to the front of war. _^ 

" UNDKK WHICH FLAG '. " 

Where now is Kobert Lee? On the border line, between 
two hostile empires, girding their loins for as stern a fight as 
ever tested warriors' steel, he beholds each beckoning to him 
to lead its people to battle. On the one hand, Virginia, now 
in the fore-front of a scarcely organized revolution, summons 
him to share her lot in the perilous adventure. The young 
Confederacy is without an army. There is no navy. There 
is no currency. There are few teeming work-shops and 
arsenals. There is little but a meagre and widely scattered 
population, for the most part men of the field, the prairie, the 
forest and the mountain, ready to stand the hazard of an auda- 



32 

cioiis endeavor, to meet aggression with whatever weapons 
freemen can lay their hands on, and to carry high the banners 
of the free, whatever may betide. 

Did he fail ? Ah, did he fail ? His beloved State would be 
trampled in the mire of the ways; the Confederacy would be 
blotted from the family of nations, — home and country would 
survive only in memory and in name ; his people would be 
captives, their very slaves their masters ; and he, — if of him- 
self he thought at all, — he, mayhap, might have seen in the 
dim perspective, the shadow of the dungeon or the scaffold. 

On the other hand stands the foremost and most powerful 
Republic of the earth, rich in all that handiwork can fashion 
or that gold can buy. It is thickly populated. Its regular 
army, and its myriad volunteers, rush to do its bidding. Its 
navy rides the Western seas in undisputed sway. Its treasury 
teems with the sinews of war, and its arsenals with weapons. 
And the world is open to lend its cheer and aid and comfort. 
Its capital lies in sight of his chamber window, and its guns 
bear on the portals of his home. A messenger comes from its 
President and from General Scott, Commander-in-Chief of its 
army, to tender him supreme command of its forces. Did he 
accept it, and did he succeed, the conqueror's crown awaits 
him, and win or lose, he will remain the foremost man of a 
great established nation, with all honor and glory that riches 
and office and power and public applause can supply. 

Since the Son of Man stood upon the Mount, and saw "all 
the kingdoms of the earth and the gloiy thereof" stretched be- 
fore him, and turned away from them to the agony and bloody 
sweat of Gethsemane, and to the Cross of Calvary beyond, no 
follower of the meek and lowly Saviour can have undergone 
more trying ordeal, or met it with higher spirit of heroic sacri- 
fice. 

There was naught on earth that could swerv^e Robert E. Lee 
from the path where, to his clear comprehension, honor and 
duty lay. To the statesman, Mr. Francis Preston Blair, who 
brought him the tender of supreme command, he answ'ered : 

"'Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned 



33 

the four millions of slaves in the South, I would sacrifice them A 
all to the Union. But how can I draw my sword against Vir- J 
ginia?" ■»— -"""^ 

Draw his sword against Virginia? Perish the thought! 
Over all the voices that called him he heard the still small voice 
that ever whispers to the soul of the spot that gave it birth, 
and of her who gave it suck ; and over every ambitions dream, 
there rose the face of tlie angel that guards the door of home. 

On the 20th of April, as soon as the news of Virginia's seces\ 
sion reached him, he resigned his commission in the army of 
the United States, and thus wrote to his sister who remained 
with her husband on the Union side: 

"With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of 
loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able 
to make up ray mind to raise my hands against my relatives, 
my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my com- 
mission in the army, and save in the defence of my native 
State (with the sincere hope tliat my poor services may never 
be needed) I hope I may never be called upon to draw my 
sword." 

LEE DEVOTES HIS SAVOKD TO HIS NATIVE STATE. 

Bidding an affectionate adieu to his old friend and com 
mander, Genera! Scott, who mourned his loss, but nobly ex 
pressed his confidence in his motives, he repaired to Richmond 
Governor John Letcher immediately appointed him to the 
command-in-chief of the Virginia forces, and the Convention 
unanimousl}' confirmed the nomination. Memorable and im- 
pressive was the scene when he came into the presence of that 
body on April 23d. Its venerable President, John Janney, 
with brief, sententious eloquence, addressed him, and con- 
cluded saying : 

"Sir, we have by this unanimous vote expressed our convic- 
tions that you are at this day, among the living citizens of Vir- 
ginia, ' first in war.' We pray to God most fervently that you 
may so conduct the operations committed to your charge, that I 
it may be said of you that you are ' first in peace,' and when I 




34 

that time comes, you will have earned the still prouder dis- 
tinction of being 'first in the hearts of your countrymen.' 

" Yesterday your mother, Virginia, placed her sword in your 
liand upon the implied condition that we know you will keep 
in letter and in spirit: that you will draw it only in defence, 
and that you will fall with it in your hand rather than the ob- 
ject for which it was placed there should fail." 

General Lee thus answered : 

''Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Co7ivention : 

" Profoundly impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, 
for which I must say I was not prepared, I accept the position 
assigned me by your partiality. I would have preferred had 
your choice fallen upon an abler man. Trusting in Almighty 
God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, 
I devote myself to the service of my native State, in whose 
behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword." 

Thus came Robert E. Lee to the State of his birth and to the 
people of his blood in their hour of need ! Thus, with as chaste 
a heart as ever plighted its faith until death, for better or for 
worse, he came to do, to suffer, and to die for us, who to-day 
arc o'athered in awful reverence, and in sorrow unspeakable, to 
weep our blessings upon his tomb. 

lee's vindication A PEOPLE IS ITS OWN JUDGE. 

I pause not here to defend the course of General Lee, as that 
defence may be drawn from the Constitution of a Republic 
which was born in the sublime protest of its people against 
bayonet rule, and founded on the bed-rock principle of free 
o-overnment, that all free governments '' must derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed." I pause not to trace 
the history or define the grounds of that theory of constitu- 
tional construction which maintained the right of secession from 
the Union as an element of sovereign statehood — a theory which 
has found ablest and noblest advocacy in every section of the 
country. The tribunal is not yet formed that would hearken 
to such defence, nor is this the time or place to utter it. And 



35 

to ray mind there is for Lee and his compatriots a loftier and 
truer vindication than anj tliat may be deduced from codes, 
constitutions, and conventional articles of government. A great 
revolution need never apologize for nor explain itself. There 
it is!— the august and thrilling rise of a whole population! 
And the fact that it is there is the best evidence of its right to 
be there. None but great inspirations underlie great actions. 
JSTone but great causes can ever produce great events, A 
transient gust of passion may turn a crowd into a mob — a tem- 
porary impulse may swell a mob into a local insurrection ; but 
when a whole people stand to their guns before their hearth- 
stones, and as one man resist what they deem aggression ; \vhen 
for long years they endure poverty and starvation, and dare 
danger and death to maintain principles which they deem sa- 
cred — when they shake a continent with their heroic endeavors 
and fill the world with the glory of their achievements, history 
can make for them no higher vindication than to point to their 
deeds and say — " behold !" 

A people is its own judge. Under God there can be no higher 
judge for them to seek or court or fear. In the supreme mo- 
ments of national life, as in the lives of individuals, the actor 
must resolve and act within himself alone. The Southern 
States acted for themselves — the Northern States for themselves 
— Virginia for herself. And when the lines of battle formed, 
Kobert Lee took his place in the line beside his people, his 
kindred, his children, his home. Let his defence rest on this 
fact alone. Nature speaks it. Nothing can strengthen it. 
Nothing can weaken it. The historian may compile ; the 
casuist may dissect ; the statesman may expatiate ; the advocate 
may plead ; the jurist may expound ; but, after all, there can 
be no stronger or tenderei" tie than that which binds the fliith- 
ful heart to kindred and to home. And on that tie — stretching 
from the cradle to the grave, spanning the heavens, and riveted 
through eternity to the throne of God on high, and underneath 
in the souls of good men and true— on that tie rests, stainless 
and immortal, the fame of Robert Lee. 



36 



?, 



LEE S EARLY SERVICE IN THE CONFEDERATE WAR. 

And now tliat war was flagrant, history delights to testify how 
grandly General Lee bore his part. Transferred from the State 
service to that of the Confederacy, with tlie rank of General, 
w-e behold him at first in the field in the rugged mountains of 
Northwest Virginia, restoring the morale lost by the early re- 
verses to our arras in that Department — holding invading 
columns in check with great disparity of force to meet them — 
bearing the censures of the impatient without a murmur, and 
careless of fame with duty done. Later, in the fall of 1861, 
we find him exercising his skill as an engineer in planning de- 
fences along the threatened coast of South Carolina ; and in 
March, 1862, he is again in Virginia, charged by President 
Davis " with the conduct of military operations in the armies 
of the Confederacy"- — in brief, and in some sort, under the 
President, Commander-in-Chief. 

But now a year of war had rolled by ; no brilliant accom- 
plishment had yet satisfied the pu})lic expectation with which 
he had been welcomed as a Southern leader ; and as the fame 
of revolutionary Captains can only be fed with victories, it is 
unquestionable that, at this stage of his career, the reputation 
of Lee, as a General, had sensibly declined. 

THE FALL OF GENERAL .JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON AND THE OFPOR- 
TUNFfY OF LEE. 

Meanwhile the Army of Northern Virginia had made a 
name in history under its famous commander, Joseph E. John- 
ston ; and I cannot speak that name without bowing the homage 
of ray heart to the illustrious soldier and noble gentleman who 
bears it. Under his sagacious and brilliant leadership, his 
forces had been suddenly witdravvn from Patterson's front 
near Winchestei-, and united with those of General Beauregard 
at Manassas ; and there, led by these two Generals, the joint 
connnand had, on July 21st, 1861, routed the Army of the 
Potomac in the first pitched battle of the war; had given earn- 
est of what the volunteers of the South could do in action, and 
liad crowned the new-born Confederacy with the glory of 



37 

splendid niilitary acliieveineiit. iStill later in the progress of 
events, Johnston had exhibited again his strategic skill in hold- 
ing McClellan at hay on the lines of Yorktoivn, with a force 
so small that it seemed hardihood to oppose him with it—had 
elnded his toils by a retreat np the Peninsula, so cleaidy con- 
ducted, that little was lost Ijeyond the space vacated*— had 
turned and fiercely smitten his advancing columns near the old 
Colonial Capital of Williamsburg on May 5th, 18r;2, and had 
planted his army firmly around Richmond. Pending the siege 
of Yorktown, a thing had liaj)pened that probably had no par- 
allel in history. The great body of General Johnston's army 
had reorganized itself under the laws of the Confederacy, 
while lying under the fire of the enemy's guns, the privates of 
each company electing by ballot the officers that were to com- 
mand them. A singular exercise of suffrage was this, but 
there was "a free ballot and a fair count," and an exhibition 
worth}' of 

"That fierce Democracy that thundered over Greece 
To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne." 

—an exhibition which would have delighted the heart of Thomaa 
JefFerson, and which certainly put to blush the autocratic theory 
that armies should be mere compact masses of brute force. 
Still later, on May 31st, Johnston had sallied forth and stormed 

*NoTE.-The Philadelphia mnes of September 4tl^sl?rc^t'aTiT^^d^7H'ifO„ 
rora the pen of Allan K Ma-rnder, Ksq., brother of the late dlstin"uishofn •mi 
ederate ofhcer Major (Jcn.Tal John Kankhead Magruder, In win -h 1 o \ •ritoV 
takes exception to this stat(.in,.nt oimy address. He savs that to tie i oral Ala. 
gruder belongs the credit of the '-.strategic skill " which held McClellan at l^av 
ontheline.sot \orktown; that General .Johnston never comman ed on tho^A 
fence. ''^'^'^ ^hat the Army of Northern Virginia never fired a shot in their de- 

The high character and standing of the writer, and mv great respect for thf. 
memory ot General Magrader, to whom I Monld do allhouor inc v?co me to 
notice this article here. 1 do not deny that General Magrii<l,.r d d before the a r 
rival ol General .Johnston, defend the lines of Yorktowif xvith\vo dSVdlres: 
and boldness, and IS entitled to high praise for the abilitv and c.h rage di^i^^laved 
n so doing. \et there can be no doubt that General Johnston did commlnd 
the army defending the Yorktown lines; and that his army fired manv a shot 
in their celence. This is attested by all the official records. That there can be 
no mistake about It, I am myself a witness, for I marched from Cen revfue to 
Richmond, and there took steamer for the "lines of Yorktown "wUi General 
Johnston st9rces; lay with them there in the trenches for weeks, and s'lw and 
heard the firing ol many a shot from cannon, rifie, and musket in 'thei^i' detinue 
And under conimand of General Johnston, whom I personal! v saw on the fle?d" 
I marched with his^trooi^s on the retreat fro'm Yorktown, and par icipated in th4 
battle ot AV illiamsburg May 5th, 1SU2, with the advancing fords ol Mcaellan 

The fact is Mr. Magruder has fallen into what is to me, a strange an lunaccount. 
.able error, as he m-iU discover on reading any history of thee v Aits lifprrfl?!?^! 
have before me McCabe's Life of Lee, and Gen. Joseph E.JoimstoiVs work entl 
tied " Johnston-s Narrative," and they confirm the accuracy of the statements 
If^"^ w*"/; ™^' remarks are based. The credit given GeneVl Jo Lton s due 
him; but It in no wise detracts from that likewise due General xMaeruder for 
his anterior exploits of a like nature. tuLiai iviagjuoer, tor 



38 

aud taken the outer entrenchments and camps of McClellan's 
army at Seven Pines, capturing ten pieces of artillery, six thou- 
sand muskets, and other spoils of war, and destrojung the pres- 
tige of the second "On to Richmond" movement. 

But ere the day was done victory had been checked, and 
glory had exacted costly tribute, for Johnston himself had 
fallen, terribly wounded. The hero, covered with ten wounds 
■ received in Florida and Mexico, had been prostrated by an- 
other ; and when June 1st dawned on the confronting armies, 
the Army of Northern Virginia was without the leader who 
held its thorough confidence, but now lay stricken well-nigh 
unto death. The casualty which thus deprived the army of 
its honored commander, and closed to him the opportunity, 
which, in large measure, his own great skill had created, 
opened the opportunity of Lee. Fortunate the State, and great 
the people from whom spring two such sons — fortunate the 
army that always had a leader worthy of it — happy he who can 
transmit his place to one so well qualified to fill it — and happy 
likewise he who had such predessor to prepare the way for vic- 
tory. 

GENERAL LEE IN COMMAND OF THE AEMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA 
— RICHMOND, MANASSAS, HARPEr's FERRY, SHARPSBURG, FRED- 
ERICKSBURG. 

On the 3d of June, 1862, General Lee was assigned to com- 
mand in person the Army of Northern Virginia ; and from 
that day to April 9th, 1865, nearly three years, he was at its 
head. And on the page of history now laid open are crowded 
schemes of war and feats of arms as brilliant as ever thrilled 
the soul of heroism and genius with admiration, — a page of 
history that feasted glory till pity cried, "no more." Swift 
M-as Lee to plan, and swift to execute. Making a feint of 
reinforcing Jackson in the Valley, startling the Federal author- 
ities with apprehensions of attack on the Potomac lines, and 
practically eliminating McDowell, who, with his corps, remained 
near Fredericksburg, he suddenly descends with Jackson on 
the right and rear of McClellan, and ere thirty days have 



39 

passed since he assumed cotnniaiid, Richmond has been saved, 
and the fiekls around her made immortal ; and the broken 
ranks of McClellan are crouching for protection under the 
heavy guns of the iron-clads at Harrison's Landing. Sixty 
days more, and the siege of Richmond has been raised, — the 
Confederate cobmms are marching JSTorthM^ard ; Jackson in the 
advance, has on August 9th caught up again with his old friend 
Banks, at Slaughter's Mountain, and punished him terribly, 
and as the day closes August 30th, Manassas has the second 
time been tlie scene of a general engagement with like results 
as the first. John Pope, who thitherto, according to his 
pompons boast, had "seen only the backs of his enemies," has 
liad his curiosity entirely satisfied with a brief glimpse of their 
faces; and the proud army of the Potomac is flying in hot 
haste to find shelter in the entrenchments of Washington. In 
early Septenjber the Confederates are in Maryland. In extreme 
exigency, McClellan is recalled to command the Army of the 
Potomac, but while Lee holds him in check at Boonsboro and 
South Mountain, a series of complicated raanceuvres have 
invested General Miles, the officer in command at Harper's 
Ferry, and on September 15th Stonewall Jackson has there 
received surrender of his entire army of eleven thousand men, 
seventy-three cannon, thirteen thousand small arms, two hun- 
dred wagons, and man}' stores. But there is no time to rest, 
for McClellan presses Lee at Sharpsburg, and there, September 
17th, battle is delivered. Upon its eve Jackson has arrived 
fresh froui Harper's Ferry. McClellan's repeated assaults on 
Lee were everywhere repulsed. lie remained on the field Sep- 
tember ISth, and then recrossed the Potomac into Virginia. 

The winter of 18G2 comes, and Burnside, succeeding Mc- 
Clellan, assails Lee at Fredericksburg on December 13th, and 
is repulsed with terrible slaughter. 

18G3 — CnANCELLORSNFLLE. 

With the dawn of spring in 1863, a replenished army with a 
fresh commander, "' Fighting Joe Hooker," renews the onset 
by way of Chancellorsville, and finds Lee with two divisions of 



40 

Longstreet's corps absent in Southeast Virginia. But slender 
as are his numbers, Lee is ever aggressive ; and while Hooker 
with "the finest army on the planet," as he styled it, is con- 
fronting Lee near Chancellorsville, and Early is holding Sedg- 
wick at bay at Fredericksburg, Jackson, who, under Lee's 
directions, has stealthily marched around him, comes thunder- 
ing in his rear, and alas ! for " Fighting Joe," he can onl}^ illus- 
trate his pugnacious subriquet by the consoling reflection that 

" He who fights and runs away, 
May live to fight another day," 

for Chancellorsville shines high on the list of Confederate vic- 
tories, and indeed was one of the grandest victories that ever 
blazoned the annals of war. , 

THE FALL OF STONEWALL JACKSOX. 

But alas ! too, for the victor, — on May 2d, in the culminating 
act of the drama, Jackson himself had fallen, and never more 
is the " foot cavalry " to see again along the smoking lines that 
calm, stern face; — never to hear again that crisp, fierce order, 
'• Give them the bayonet !" which so often heralded the tri- 
umphant charge; never is the Southern land to be thrilled 
again with his familiar bulletin — " God blessed our arms with 
victory." At the age of 39 — at a time of life when the pow- 
ers of manhood are ordinarily scarce full-orbed, he has touched 
the zenith, and filled the world with his fame; and he who went 
forth two years before from this quiet town, scarce known 
beyond it, comes back upon the soldier's bier, renowned, 
revered, and njourned in every clime where the heart quickens 
in sympathy for surpassing valor, united with transcendent 
genius aisd honor without a stain. There he sleeps, in yon green 
grave, and as in life he fought, so in death he rests with Lee. 

WINCHESTER AND GETTYSBUKG. 

But not long can the soldier pause to weep. We fire our 
salute over the ashes of our heroic dead : and again the bugles 
sound " i)oots and saddles," and the long roll is beating. Less 
than a month has passed, and again the Army of Northern 



41 

Virginia is in motion, and while Hooker is groping around to 
ascertain the M'hereabonts of his adversary, the next scene 
unfolds: General Early has planned and executed a flank 
march around AVinchester, worthy of Stonewall Jackson, — the 
men of his division are mounting the parapets on June 14th, 
and capturing Milro3''s guns. General Edward Johnston's 
division is pursuing Milroy's fugitives down the Yalley pike. 
General Rodes has captured Martinsburg, with 100 prisoners 
and five cannon, — Ewell's corps is master of the Yalley, — and 
by June 24th, the Army of Northern Yirginia is in Pennsyl- 
vania, while for the third time the Army of the Potomac is 
glad if it can interpose to prevent the fall of Washington — 
and a sixth commander has come to its head— -General George 
C. Meade. 

Then follows the boldest and grandest assault of modern 
war — the charge upon the Federal centre entrenched on the 
heights of Gettysburg — a charge that well-nigh ended the war 
with " a clap of thunder," and was so characterized by brave 
design and dauntless execution that friend and foe alike burst 
into irrepressible praise of the great commander who directed 
and of the valorous men who made it. It failed. But Lee, 
unshaken, rallies the broken lines, and the next morning stands 
in steady array, flaunting his banners defiantly, and challenging 
renewal of the strife. " It is all my fault," he says. Not so 
thought his men. We saw him standing by the roadside with 
his bridle rein over his arm, on the second day afterwards, as 
the army was withdrawing. Pickett's drvision filed past him ; 
every General of Brigade had fallen, and every field-ofiScer of 
its regiments ; a few tattered battle-flags and a few hundreds 
of men were all that was left of the magnificent body, 5,000 
strong, who had made the famous charge. He stood with un- 
covered head, as if he reviewed a conquering host, and with 
the conqueror's look upon him. With proud step the men 
marched by, and as they raised their hats and cheered him 
there was the tenderness of devoted love, mingled with the fire 
of battle, in their eyes. 

Returning to Yirginia in martial trim and undismayed, and 



42 

foilowed by Meade with that slow and gingerly step which is 
self-explaining, we next behold onr General displaying that 
rare self-poise and confidence which bespeaks ever a great 
quality — firmness of mind in war. In September, while he 
confronts Meade along the Rapidan, he detatches the entire 
corps of Longstreet, and ere Meade is aware of this weakening 
of his opponent's forces, Longstreet is nine hundred miles 
away, striking a terrible blow at Chickamaiiga. 

The year 1863 passes by without other signiicant event in 
the story of the Array of Northern Virginia. Meade indeed, 
once in November, deployed his lines along Mine Run 
in seeming overtures of battle, but quickly concluding that 
"discretion was the better part of valor," he marched back 
across the Rappahannock, content with his observations. 

1864 — WILDERNESS, SPOTSYLVANIA, COLD ITARBOE, PETERSBURG, 

LYNCHBURG. 

But as the May blossoms in 1 864, we hear once more the 
wonted strain of spring, " tramp, tramp, tramp, the boj's are 
marching," and Grant (who had succeeded Meade), crossing 
the Rappahannock with 141,000 men, plunges boldly into the 
Wilderness on May 4th, leading the sixth crusade for the re- 
duction of Richmond. But scarce had he disclosed his line of 
march, than Lee, with 50,000 of his braves, springs upon him 
and hurls him back, staggering and gory, through the tangled 
chapparal of the Wilderness, and from the fields of Spotsyl- 
vania : and though the redoubtable Grant writes to the Govern- 
ment on May 12th, " I propose to fight it out on this line if it 
takes all summer;" when we look over the field of Cold Har- 
bor on June 3d, w^e see there, stretched in swaths and piled 
in reeking mounds 13,000 of his men, — the killed and 
wounded of his last assault "in the over-land campaign." And 
when Grant ordered his lines to attack again the flinty front of 
Lee, they stood immobile, — in silent protest against the vain 
attempt, and in silent eulogy of their sturdy foe. One summer 
month had been summer time enough for Grant along that 
impervious line; and there at Cold Harbor practically closed 



43 

the sixth expedition aimed directly at the Confederate Capital 
— McDowell, McClellan, Pope, Buriiside, Hooker and now 
Grant, — all being disastrously repulsed by the Army of North- 
ern Virginia, and all but the first receiving their repulse by the 
army led by Lee. But Grant in some sort, veiled his reverses 
by immediately abandoning attack on the north side of the 
James, which he crossed in the middle of June, — attempting 
to capture Petersburg on the south side by a coup de main. 
But in this, after four days' successive assaults which ended in 
vain carnage, he failed again; and almost simultaneously Hun- 
ter's invasion through the Valley was intercepted and success- 
fully repelled at Lynchburg by the swift and bold movements 
of Lee's greatest Lieutenant, — the ever-to-be-counted-on Jubal 
A. Early, who had been dispatched to meet him with a force 
not half his equal in numbers. And when midsummer came, 
Grant was glad to shelter his drooping banners behind en- 
trenchments ; Hunter was flying to the mountains of West 
Virginia, and detachments were hurrying from the Army of 
the Potomac to save Washington, which was trembling at the 
sound of Early's guns. In that wonderful campaign of Lee 
from the Wilderness tb Petersburg, Grant had lost not less 
than 70,000 men in reaching a point which he might have 
gained by river approaches without the loss of one. Every 
man in the Army of Northern Virginia, had more than stricken 
down a foeman ; and final demonstration had been given to 
the fact that in field fight, Lee could not be matched in gen- 
eralship, and that the Army of Northern Virginia was invinci- 
ble. This fact the hard sense of Grant recognized ; and though 
no commander who felt himself and his men to be tlie equals 
of their adversaries in manceuvre and combat would ever come 
down to such conclusion, it is creditable to Gi'ant's plain, mat- 
ter-of-fact way of looking at things — that he looked at them 
just as they were. And so he resorted to sap and mine and 
pick and spade to do the work which strategy and valor had so 
often essayed in vain. For nine months the armies lay before 
the muzzles of each other's guns, — bumping, as it were, against 
each other, — Grant deliberately counting that he who had the 



44 

most heads could butt the longest. Thus Lee stood with less 
than 40,000 men covering a line of thirty miles, while Grant, 
with more than three times that number, over and over again 
at Reams's Station, at the Crater, at Hatcher's Run and other 
points, battered the armor from which every blow recoiled. 
So Lee stood with a half-fed and half-clothed soldiery, composed 
largely of stripling youth and failing age, beating back his 
three-fold foe, freshly recruited for every fresh assault, and 
generously provided with the richest stores and most approved 
arras and munitions of war. 

Time forbids that I prolong the story ; and this imperfect 
sketch is but a dim outline of that grand historic picture in 
which Robert Lee will ever stand as the foremost iigure, chal- 
lenging and enchaining the reverence and admiration of man- 
kind, — the faint suggestion of that magnificent career which has 
made for him a place on the heights of history as high as war- 
rior's sword has ever carved. 

PREMONITIONS OF THE END — THE MARCH TO APPOMATTOX. 

Vain was the mighty struggle, led by the peerless Lee. 
Genius planned, valor executed, patriotism stripped itself of 
every treasure, and heroism fought and bled and died, — and all 
in vain! When the drear winter of 1864 came at last, there 
came also premonotions of the end. " The very seed-corn of 
the Confederacy had been ground up," as President Davis said. 
The people sat at naked tables and slept in sheetless beds, for 
their apparel had been used to bind up wounds. The weeds grew 
in fenceless fields, for the plow-horse was pulling tlie cannon. 
The church-yard and the mansion fences were stripped of their 
leaden ornaments, that the musket and the rifle might not lack 
for bullets. The church bells, now melted into cannon, pealed 
forth the dire notes of war. The land was drained of its sub- 
stance, and the Army of Northern Virginia was nearly ex- 
hausted for want of food and raiment. All through the bleak 
winter days and nights its decimated and shivering ranks still 
faced the dense battallions of Grant, in misery and want not 
less than that which stained the snows of Valley Forge ; and 



45 

the army seemed to live only on its innate, indomitable will, as 
oftentimes we see some noble mind survive when the physical 
powers of nature have been exhausted. Like a rock of old 
ocean, it had received, and broken, and hurled back into the 
deep in bloody foam those swiftly succeeding waves of four 
years of incessant battle ; but now the rock itself was wearing 
a^a}', and still the waves came on. 

A new enemy was now approaching the sturd}^ devoted band. 
In September, 1864, Atlantafell, and through Georgia to the sea, 
with fire and sword, swept the victorious columns of Sherman. 
In January/ 1865, the head of column had been turned north 
ward ; and in February, Columbia and Charleston shared tlie 
fate that had alread}' befallen Savannali. Yes, a new enemy was 
approaching the Army of Northern Virginia, and this time in 
the rear. The homes of tlie soldiers of the Army of Nortliern 
Virginia from the Southern States were now in ashes. Wives, 
mothers and sisters w^ere wanderers under the winter skies, 
flying from the invaders who smote and spared not in their re- 
lentless march. Is it wonder that hearts that never quailed be- 
fore bayonet or blade beat now with tremulous and irrepressi- 
ble emotion ? Is it wonder that, in the watches of the nio-ht 
the sentinel in the trenches, tortured to excruciation with the 
thought that those dearest of earth to him were witliout an 
arm to save, felt his soul sink in anguish and his hope perish ? 
So it was, that with hunger and nakedness as its cotnpanions, 
and foes in front and foes in rear, the Army of Noi'thern Vir- 
ginia seemed bound to the rock of fate. 

On April 1st the left wing of Grant's massive lines swept 
around the right and rear of Lee. Gallantly did Pickett and 
his men meet and resist them at Five Forks ; but that com- 
manding strategic point was taken, and the fall of Petersburg 
and of Richmond alike became inevitable. On the next day, 
April 2d, they were evacuated. Grant was now on a shorter 
line projected toward Danville than Lee, and the latter com- 
menced at once that memorable retreat towards Lynchburo-, 
which ended at Appomattox. 



46 

THE BATTLE OF APPOMATTOX THE LAST CHARGE. 

Over tliat march of desperate valor disputing fate, as over 
the face of a hero in the throes of dissohition, I throw the 
blood-reeking battle-flag, rent with wounds, as a veil. And I 
hail the heroic army and its heroic chief, as on the 9th of April 
morn, thej stand embattled in calm and stern repose, ready to 
die with their harness on, — warriors every incli, without fear, 
without stain. Around the little hamlet of Appomattox Court- 
house is gathered the remnant of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, — less tlian 8,000 men with arms in tlieir hands, — less 
than 27,000 all told, counting camp followers and stragglers ; 
and around tliem in massive concentric lines the army of Grant, 
flushed with success and expectation — more than 80,000 strong 
upon the field, and with each hour bringing up re-inforcements. 
"The environed army, with a valor all Spartan, stand ready to 
die, not indeed in response to civic laws denying surrender, 
but obedient to the lofty inipnlse of honor." Can they cut 
through 'i Does the dream of a saved Confederacy yet beckon 
them on beyond the wall of steel and fire that girdles them ? 
Can they find fighting ground in the Carolinas with Josejoh E. 
Johnston, who, among the first to meet the foe, proves amongst 
the last to leave him '( Can these dauntless foeman yet cleave 
a path to" the inner country, and renew the unequal strife? 

Xot till that hope is tested will they yield I 

As the day dawns, a remnant of the cavalry under Fitz. Lee 
is forming, and Gordon's infantry, scarce two thousand strong, 
are touching elbows for the last charge. Once more the thrill- 
ing rebel cheer rings through the Virginia woods, and with all 
their wonted fierceness they fall upon Sheridan's men. Ah ! 
yes, victory still clings to the tattered battle-flags. Yes, the 
troopers of our gallant Fitz. are as dauntless as when they fol- 
lowed the plume of Stuart, " the flower of cavaliers." Yes, 
the matchless infantry of "tattered uniforms and briglit mus- 
kets" under Gordon, the brave, move witli as swift, intrepid 
tread as when of old — Stonewall led the way. Soldiers of 
Manassas, of Richmond, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
lorsville, Gettysburg, of the Wilderness, of Spotsylvania, of 



47 

Jold Harbor, of Petersburg — scarred and sinewy veterans of 
fifty fields, your glories are still about you, your manhood is 
triumphant still. Yes, the blue lines break before them ; two 
cannon and many prisoners are taken, and for two miles they 
sweep the field towards Lynchburg — victors still ! 

But no, too late ! too late! Behind the flying sabres and 
rifles of Sheridan rise the bayonets and frown the batteries of 
the Army of the James, under Ord — a solid phalanx stands 
right athwart the path of Fitz. Lee's and Gordon's men. Too 
late ! the die is cast I The doom is sealed ! There is no escape. 
The eagle is quarried in his eyre ; the wounded lion is liaunted 
to his lair ! 

And so the guns of the last charge died away in the morn- 
ing air ; and echo, like the sob of a mighty sea, rolled up the 
valley of the James, and all was still. The last fight of the 
Army of Northern Virginia had been fought. The end had 
come. The smoke vanished. The startled birds renewed their 
songs over the stricken field ; the battle srnell was drowned in 
the fragrance of the flowering spring. And the ragged soldier 
of the South, God bless him I stood there facing the dread 
reality, more terrible than death — stood there to grapple with 
and face down despair, for he had done his all. and all was lost, 
save Honor! 

SURKENDEK. 

General Lee, dressed in his best uniform, rides to the front 
to meet General Grant. For several days demands forsurren. 
der had been rejected — now surrender was inevitable. And 
the two commanding ofiicers meet at the McLean House to 
concert its terms. The first and abiding thought of Lee was 
the honor of his n:ien, for he had determined to ''cut his way 
through at all hazards, if such terms were not granted as he 
thought his army was entitled to demand." " General," said 
Lee, addressing Grant, and opening the conversation, " I deem 
it due to proper candor and frankness to say at the beginning 
of this interview that 1 am not willing even to discuss any 
terms of surrender, inconsistent with the honor of my army, 



48 

which I am deterinincd to maintain to the last." Grant gave 
fitting and magnanimous response, and the honorable terms 
demanded were agreed to. " The officers to retain their side 
arms, private horses and baggage," and " each officer and man to 
be allowed to return to his liome," and, mark it, " not to he dis- 
turhed by United States authority as long as they observe their 
parole, and the laws in force lohere they reside.'''' 

Thus at last was the liberty of the soldier purchased with 
his blood. 

And so the Army of Xorthern Virginia, never broken in 

battle, passed from action into History ; so it perished by the 

flashing of the guns, while victory hung charmed to its flag, 

and threw upon its tomb the immortelles of Honor. 

" The old order changeth, yielding place to new, 
And God fulfills himself in many ways." 

, FAREWELL. 

'■^ Men, we have fought through the xoar together. I have 
done my best for you; my heart is too full to say more,'''' was 
Lee's utterance to the ragged, battle-begrimmed boys in gray, 
wlio, when the dread news' ol surrender spread among them, 
gathered around him to shake his hand and testify tlieir undy- 
ing confidence and love. In his pubHslied address he said to 
them : " You will carry with you the satisfaction that proceeds 
from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I 
earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his 
blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration of 
your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful 
remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of 
myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell." 

As Robert Lee rode from Appomattox toward Richmond, 
he carried with him the heart of ever}' man that fought under 
him — linked to him with hooks of steel forever. When he 
reached the fallen Capital of the dead Confederacy, and rode 
through its ashes and paling fires to his home, a body of Fed- 
eral soldiers there, catching a glimpse of his noble countenance, 
lifted their hats and cheered; and as the great actor in the 



49 

bloody dnirna stepped behind the scenes, and the curtain fell 
upon the tragic stage of the secession war, the last sounds that 
greeted his ears were the generous salutations of respect from 
those against whom he had wielded his knightly sword. 

RETIREMENT, COUNSEL AND ACCErTANCE OF THE SITUATION;. 

Had the paroled soldier of Appomattox carried to retirement 
the vexed spirit and hollow heart of a ruined gamester, nothing 
had remained to him but to drain the dregs of a disappointed 
career. But there went with him that ''consciousness of duty 
faithfully performed," which consoles every rebuff of fortune, 
sweetens every sorrow, and tempers every calamity — and now 
it was that he proved indeed what he once expressed in lan- 
guage, that "Human fortitude should be equal to human 
adversity." Once on the Appomattox lines agony had tortured 
from his lips the M^ords : " How easily I could get rid of this 
and be at rest. I have only to ride along the lines, and all will 
be over." But he cjuickly added : " It is our duty to live, for 
what will become of the Avomeu and children of the South if 
we are not here to protect them V And as the thought of his 
country v-as thus uppermost and controlling in the awful hour 
of surrender, so it remained to the closing of his life. Ere 
the struggle ended he had disclosed to a confidential friend. 
General Pendleton, that " he never believed we could, against 
the gigantic combination for our subjugation, make good our 
independence, unless foreign powers, directly or indirectly, 
assisted us." But said he, ''We had sacred principles to main- 
tain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to 
do our best, even if we perished in the endeavor." And now 
that this belief was verified, he declared : " I. did only what my 
duty demanded. I could have taken no other course without 
dishonor. And if all were to be done over again, I should act 
in precisely the same manner." And when those about him 
mourned the great disaster, he said : " Yes, that is all very sad, 
and might be a cause of self-reproach, but that we are conscious 
that we have humbly tried to do our duty. We may, there- 
fore, with calm satisfaction, trust in God, and leave results to 
Him." 



50 

Lee tlioronghlj understood and tlioroughly accepted the 
situation. He realized fully that the war had settled, settled 
forever, the peculiar issues which had embroiled it ; but he 
knew also that only time could dissipate its rankling passions 
and restore freedom ; and hence it was he taught that " Silence 
and patience on the part of the South was the true course " — 
silence, because it was vain to speak when prejudice ran too 
high for our late enemies to listen — patience, because it was 
the duty of the hour to labor for recuperation and wait for 
reconciliation. And murmuring no vain sigh over the "might 
have been," which now could not be — conscious that our des- 
tinies were irrevocably bound up with those of the perpetual 
Union, he lifted high over the fallen standards of war the 
banner of the Prince of Peace, emblazoned w^ith " Peace on 
Earth and Good Will toward Men." 

The President and Congress of the United States made con- 
ditions of pardon and absolution. They were harsh and exact- 
ing. The mass of the people affected by them, of necessity, 
had to accept them. Therefore he would share their humilia- 
tion. Accordingly he asked amnesty. But his letter was 
never answered. He was indicted for treason. He appeared 
ready to answer the charge. But the government now revolted 
from an act of treachery so base, for his parole of Appomattox 
protected him. Thus was he reviled and harrassed, yet never 
word of bitterness escaped him ; but, on the contrary, only 
counsels of forbearance, patience and diligent attention to 
works of restoration. Many sought new homes in foreign 
lands, but not so he. "All good citizens," he said, "must 
unite in honest efforts to obliterate the effects of war, and to 
restore the blessings of peace. They must not abandon their 
country, but go to work and build up its prosperity." "The 
young men especially must stay at home, bearing themselves 
in such a manner as to gain the esteem of every one, at the 
same time tliat they maintain their own ]-espect.'' "It should 
be the object of all to avoid controversy, to allay passion, and 
give scope to every kindly feeling." "It is wisest not to keej) 
open the sores of war. but to follow the example of tluise na- 



51 • 

tions who have endcavorod to obliterate the marks of civil 
strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered." 

" Trne patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly 
contrary at one period to that which it does at another, and the 
motive that impels them, the desire to do right, is precisely the 
same; The circumstances which govern their actions change, 
and their conduct must conform to the new order of thinjrs. 
History is full of illustrations of this. Washington himself is 
an example of this. At one time he fought against the French 
under Braddock ; at another time he fought with the French 
at Yorktown, under the orders of the Continental Congress of 
America, against him. He has not been branded by the world 
with reproach for tliis, but his course has been applauded." 
These were some of the wise and temperate counsels with which 
he pointed out the duties of the hour. 

JEFFEKSON DAVIS. 

Xor was he lacking in faithful remembrance of the Presi- 
dent of the Confederacy, who for months and months after 
surrender lay sick and in prison, and who seemed to be singled 
out to undergo vicarious punishment for the deeds of the peo- 
ple. " Mr. Davis," truly said General Lee, " did notliing more 
than all the citizens of the Southern States, and should not be 
held accountable for acts performed by them, in the exercise 
of what had been considered by them unquestionable right." 
None are more conscious of this fact than those against whom Jef- 
ferson Davis directed the Confederate arms ; and that he yet, 
nearly twenty years after strife has ceased, should be disfran- 
chised in a land that vaunts its freedom, for so doing, is a griev- 
ance, and a grief to every honorable Southern man. He him- 
self is honored by this significant mark of hostile memoiw. 
He cannot suffer by the ignoble act. Only they Mdio do it are 
deeply ashamed. And that it is done, only shows the weakness 
of representatives who have not read the very title page in the 
book of human nature, and who, vainly conceiving that an 
insult to one man can be fruitful of any public good, only 
illustrate the saying of Madame de Stael, "that the strongest of 



u 



all an.tipatliies is that of second-rate minds for a first-rate one,'' 
and that other maxim of Edmnnd Burke, that "great empires 
and little minds go ill together." When Marc Antony, the 
great Triumvir of Home, who conquered Egypt, was himself 
overthrown by Octavius Csesar, he gloried dying that he " had 
conquered as a Roman, and was by a Roman nobly conquered." 
If the spirit of those brave soldiers of the Union, who, while 
the fields of battle were yet moist with blood, saluted Lee, had 
guided the conduct of the civilians to whom their valor gave 
the reins of State, it would have been for us Confederates who 
achieved great victories, and were in turn cast down, to have 
gloried likewise, that we in our time had conquered as Ameri- 
cans, and were by Americans nobly conquered. But when we 
recall that our honored and faithful President is disfranchised 
simply because he was our chief, and bravely, ablj^ served our 
cause, the iron enters our souls and represses the generous 
emotions that well up in them. And we can only lament that 
shallow politicians have proven un worth}' of the American name, 
and are not imbued with the great free spirit of a great free 
people. We have not a thought or fimcy or desire to undo the 
perpetuity of the Union. For any man to pretend to think 
otherwise is ju-oclamation of his falsehood, or his folly. But 
we intend to be free citizens of the Union, accepting no badge 
of inferiority or h^shonor. And by the tomb of our dead hero, 
who was true to his chief, as to every trust, we ])rotest to man- 
kind against this unjust thing ; an offence to our liberties and 
to our manhood, which are not less sacred than the grave. 

And we waft to him, our late Chief Magistrate, in his South- 
ern home, our greetings and our blessings ; and as the years grow 
thick upon him, we pray that he may find in the unabated 
confidence and affection of his people, some solace for all that 
he has borne for them ; and in the strength that cometh from 
on high, a staff that man cannot take from him. 

MEDriATIONS OF DUTV. 

While General Lee thus sustained and cheered his country- 
men, the problem soon began to press, what should he do with 



53 

himself ? Aiul had lie Ikhjii in an j sense a self-seeker, the solu- 
tion had been easy, for many M-ere the overtures and profifers 
made to him in every form of interested solicitation, and dis- 
interested generosity. Would lie seek recreation from the 
trials which for years iiad strained every energy of mind and 
body, and every emotion of his heart, — the palaces of European 
nobility, the homes of the Old World and the New, alike, opened 
their doors to him as a welcome and honored guest. Would 
he prolong his military career? More than one potentate would 
have been proud to receive into his service his famous sword. 
"Would he retrieve his fortunes and surround his declining years 
with luxury and wealth? He had but to yield the sanction of 
his name to any oni^ of the many enterprises that commercial 
princes commended to his favor, with every assurance of munifi- 
cent reward. And indeed, were he willing to accept, unlimited 
means were placed at his disposal by those who would have been 
proud to render him any service. 

But it had been the principle of Lee's life to accept no 
gratuitous offer. He had declined the gift of a home tendered 
to him by the citizens of Richmond during the war, when 
Arlington had been confiscated, and the refuge of his family, 
the "White House,'" had been burned, — expressing the hope 
thTit those who offered the gift would devote the means re- 
quired " to the relief of the families of our soldiers in the 
field, who are more deserving of assistance, and more in want 
of it than myself." And now when an English nobleman pre- 
sented him as a retreat a splendid country seat in England,- 
with a handsome annuity to correspond, he answered : "I am 
deeply grateful, but I cannot consent to desert my jiative State 
in the hour of her adversit3\ I must abide her fortunes and 
share her ftite." And declining also the many positions with 
lucrative salaries which were urged upon Jiis acceptance, it was 
his intention to locate in one of the Southside counties of Vir- 
ginia, " upon a small farm where he might earn his daily 
bread" in cultivating the soil, and at the same time to write a 
history of his campaigns ; " not," as he said, " to vindicate 
myself, and promote my own reputation, but to show the world 



54 

what our poor boys witli their small nnmhers and scant re- 
sources had succeeded in accomplishing."" 
-^ But circumstances, then to him unknown, were bringing an 
event to pass which turned over a new and unexpected leaf in 
his history — an event which made a little scion of knowledge, 
which had been nurtured through the storms of the Colonial 
Revolution, a great and noble University, and which now has 
associated in the glorious work of education, as in glorious deeds 
of arms, the twin names of Washington and Lee. 

LIBERTY HALL ACADEMY. 

It was nearly a century after the settlement at Jamestown, 
that Governor Spotswood of Virginia, at tlie head of a troop 
of horse, first explored the hitliorto unknown land beyond the 
mountains, and upon his return from the expedition, the Gov- 
ernor presented to each of his bold companions a golden horse- 
shoe, inscribed with the legend : " Sic jurat transcendere 
monies,''^ as a memorial of the event; a circumstance ;vhich 
caused them to be named in history, " The Knights of the 
Golden Horseshoe." In August, 1716, these adventurous spirits 
first looked down from the heights of the Blue Hidge upon the 
beautiful Yalley of Virginia, — a virgin land indeed, tenanted 
only by the roving red men. Glorious must have been the 
thrill of joy that quickened their hearts, as the tempting vision 
lay spread before them, as their eyes ranged over the fields and 
forests of this new land of promise in its summer sheen, — a 
land watered with many rivers, and especially with that beau- 
tiful and abounding river, " the Shenandoah," which the Indians 
named " The Daughter of the Stars." , 

But prophetic as may have been the glance that saw in the 
fruitful valley the future home ot a great and thriving people, 
slow were the footsteps that followed the pioneers and occupied 
the hunting-grounds of the receding Indians. For in those 
days immigration was not quickened by steam and electricity, 
and early tradition had pictured the transmontane country as a 
barren and gloomy waste, infested with serpents and wild beasts 
and brutal savages. 



But erewliile the reports of Spotswood and__^his men went for 
and wide, and the Star of Empire beamed over tlie Allegha- 
nies. And along in 1730 and 174-0, we find the spray of tiie 
incoming tide bi-eaking over the nnountains — the sturdy Scotch- 
Irish for the most part, with some Germans and Englishmen, 
pouring into the Valley from Pennsylvania and Eastern Vir- 
ginia, and from the fatherlands over the water. JSTot speculative 
adventurers were they, with the ambition of landlords, but bring- 
ing with them rifle and Bible, wife and child, and simple house- 
hold goods — home-seekers and home-builders, who had heard 
of the goodly land, and who had come to stay, and who built 
the meeting-house and the school-house side by side when they 
came. Rough men were they — ready to hew their way to free 
and pleasant homes — but in nowise coarse men, for they were 
filled with high purpose, and religion and knowledge they knew 
should be hand-maids of each other. And showing their in- 
stinctive refinement, — where the corn waved its tassels and the 
wheat bowed to the wind, by their rude log huts in the wilder- 
ness there also the vine clambered, and the rose and lily bloomed. 

In 17'10, near Greeneville, in Augusta county— and Augusta 
county was then an empire stretching from the Blue Kidge 
mountains to the Mississippi river — in 1749 Robert Alexander, 
a Scotch-Irish immigrant, who was a Master of Arts of Trinity 
College, Dublin, established there '■ The Augusta Academy" — 
the first classical school in the Valley of Virginia. Under his 
successor. Rev. John Brown, the academy was first moved to 
"Old Providence," and again to " Xew Providence church," 
and just before the Revolution, for a third time, to Mount 
Pleasant, near Fairfield, in the now county of Rockbridge. 

In 1776, as the revolutionary fires were kindling, there came 
to its head as principal William Graham, of worthy memory, 
who had been a class-mate and special friend of Harry I,oe at 
Princeton College ; and at the first meeting of the trustees 
after the battle of Lexington, while Harrj'- Lee was donning 
his sword for battle, they baptized it as "Liberty flail Academy.*' 
Another removal followed, in 1777, to near the old Timbei- 
Ridge church ; but finally, in 1785, the academy rested from 



56 

its wanderings near Lexington, the little town which too had 
caught the flame of revolution, and was the first to take the 
name of that early battle-ground of the great rebellion, where 

" The embattled farmers stood 
And fired the shot heard round the world." 

WASHINGTON ACADEMY AND WASHINGTON COLLEGE. 

Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary war, the Legis- 
lature of Yirginia, in token of esteem and admiration for the 
virtues and services of General George Washington, donated 
him one hundred shares of stock in the old James River Com- 
pany. General Washington, in a characteristic manner, declined 
to accept the donation save only on the condition that he be 
permitted to appropriate it to some public purjjose " in the 
upper part of the State," such as "the education of the chil- 
dren of the poor, particularly the children of such as have fallen 
in defence of the country." The condition granted. President 
Washington, in 1790 — for he had then become President of 
the New Republic — dedicated the one hundred shares of stock 
" to the use of Liberty Hall Academy in Rockbridge county." 
Mayhap the friendship between William Graham, its principal, 
and his old class-mate at Princeton, " Light Horse Harry Lee," 
the friend of Washington, had something to do in guiding tlie 
benefaction ; but be this as it may, it was given and accepted, 
and in honor of the benefactor the academy was clothed with 
his immortal name. 

In acknowledging the thanks expressed to him by the Board 
of Trustees, President Washington said : " To promote litera- 
ture in this rising empire and to encourage the arts has ever 
been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart ; and if the do- 
nation which the generosity of the Legislature of the Common- 
wealth has enabled me to bestow upon Liberty Hall — now by 
your politeness called Wasiiington Academy — is likely to prove 
a means to accomplish these ends, it will contribute to the 
gratification of my desires." 

Soon after this, the Legislature, which had already incorpo- 
rated the institution on a comprehensive basis, gave it the name 



57 

of " The College of Washington in Virginia '' — a name, how- 
ever, which the trustees did not accept until 1812."" In the spirit 
of their beloved commander, " The Cincinnati Society," com- 
posed of survivors of the Revolutionary war, on dissolving in 
1803, donated their funds, amounting to nearly $25,000, to the 
institution which had received his patronage and bore his name ; 
and, thus endowed, it went forward in a career which, for nearly 
three-score years and ten, was a pei'iod of uninterrupted useful- 
ness, prosperity and honor. 

All ranks of honorable enterj^rise and ambition " in this rising 
empire " felt the impress of the noble spirits who came forth 
from its halls, trained and equipped for life's arduous tasks with 
keenest weapons and brightest armor. Wliat glowing names 
are these that shine on the rolls of the alumni of this honored 
Alma Mater! Church and State, Field and Forum, Bar and 
Bench, Hospital and Counting-Iioom, Lecture-Room and Pulpit 
— what famous champions and teachers of the right, what trusty 
workers and leaders in literature and law, and arts, and arms, 
have they not found in her sons ! Seven Governors of States — 
amongst them Crittenden, of Kentuckj^, and McDowell, Letcher, 
and Kemper, of Virginia ; eleven United States Senators— 
amongst them Parker, of Virginia, Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 
H. S. Foote, of Mississippi, and William C. Preston, of South 
Carolina; more than a score of Congressmen, two-score and' 
more of judges — amongst them Trimble, of the United States 
Supreme Court ; Coalter, Allen, Anderson, and Burks, of the 
Court of Appeals of Virginia; twelve or more college presi- 
dents, and amongst them Moses Hoge and Archibald Alexan- 
der, of Hampden-Sidney, James Priestlj^, of Cumberland 
College, Tennessee ; and G. A. Baxter and Henry Ruifner (who 
presided here), and Socrates Maupin, of the University of Vir- 
ginia. These are but a few of those who here garnered the 
learning that shed so gracious a light in the after-time on them, 
their country, and their Alma Mater. And could I pause to 

* In 1796 the Legislatui'e of Virginia undertook to erect tlie Academy into a 
College under tlie name of tlie" College of Washington." Tlie board of trustees 
resisted the enactment as an infringement of the rights of tlie corporation ; and 
thiir grave anil Ibreible protest was said by the late Hugli Blair Grigsby, in an 
address delivered in 1S7U, to have been the basis of the brief of Mr. Webster in 
the great Dartmouth College case. The act was repealed in response to this re- 
monsti'ance. The name of Washington College was finally adopted in 1812. 



58 

speak of those who became valiant leaders of men in battle, 1 
could name many a noble soldier whose eye greets mine to-day; 
and, alas ! I should recall the form of many a hero who passed 
from these halls in the flash of youthful manhood, and has long 
slept wuth "the unreturning brave;" for in 1861, when the 
calls to arms resounded, "The Liberty- Plall Volunteers" — the 
students of Washington College — were among the first (and in 
a body) to respond; and when the quiet professor of your twin 
institute was baptized in history as " Stonewall Jackson," tiieir 
blood o'erflowed the christening urn and reddened Manassas' 
field, and from Manassas to Appomattox, under Joseph E. 
Johnston, and Thomas J. Jackson, and llobert E. Lee, the boys 
and the men of Washington College proved that they were 
worthy of their leaders, worthy of tlieir State and country, and 
worthy of all good fame. 

THE FATE OF WAR. 

Unsparing war spared not the shrine where breathed into the 
arts of peace, yet lived the spirit and was perpetuated the name 
of the Father of his Country. When in 1864 David Hunter 
led an invading army against the State from whose blood he 
sprung, he came not as comes the noble champion eager to strike 
the strong,. and who realizes that he meets an equal and a gen- 
erous foe, Lee had penetrated the year before to the heart of 
Pennsylvania, and the Southern infantry had bivouacked on 
the banks of the Susquehanna. 

When he crossed the Pennsylvania line, he had announced in 
general orders, from the headquarters of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, that he did not come to "take vengeance;" that " we 
make war only upon armed men," and he therefore " earnestly 
exhorted the troops to abstain with most scrupulous care from 
unnecessarj' or wanton injury of private property," and " en- 
joined upon all ofiicers to arrest and bring to summary punish- 
ment all who should in any way offend against the orders on 
the subject." He had been obeyed by his lieutenants and his 
men. iNo charred ruins, no devastated fields, no plundered 
homes marked the line of his march. On one occasion, to set 



5« 

a good example, he was seen to dismount from liis horse and 
pnt np a farmer's fence. In the citj of York General Early 
had in general orders prohibited the burning of buildings con- 
taining stores of war, lest fire might be communicated to neigh- 
boring homes; and General Gordon, in his public address, had 
declared : "If a torch is applied to a single dwelling, or an in- 
sult offered to a female of your town by a soldier of this com- 
mand, point me out the man, and you shall have his life." The 
battle of Gettysburg had raged around Gettysburg College, 
but when it ended the college stood scathless, save by the acci- 
dents of war. But when David Hunter invaded Virginia, he 
came to make war on the weak and helpless, and he was as 
ruthless to ruin as he was swift to evade battle and to retreat. 
He blistered the land which he should have loved and honored, 
and a broad, black path marked his trail. From the summit 
of those mountains where Spotswood first spied the Valley, 
could be counted at one time the flames ascending from 118 
burning houses. The Virginia Military Institute was burned, 
and the very statue of Washington which adorned it vras carried 
off as a trophy. Washington College was dismantled, its scien- 
tific apparatus destroyed, its library sacked, its every apartment 
pillaged. The hand of war indeed fell heavily here, and when 
the Southern cause went down at Appomattox, Washington 
College remained scarce more than a ruinous and desolate relic 
of better days. Four professors, a handful of students, and the 
bare buildings, were all that was left of it. 

PRESIDEiSTT OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE. 

In August, 18G5, the trustees of Washington College met. 
The situation they contemplated was deplorable and depressing. 
Their invested funds were unproductive. Their treasury was 
empty. The State was prostrate and bankrupt. In the sky of 
the future there was scarcely a ray of light. But they were 
resolved to face difficulties and to do the best they could. One 
of the trustees, Colonel Bolivar Christian, of Staunton, sug- 
gested that General Lee be invited to accept the Presidency of 
the Institution. There was but little anticipation that he would 
incline to their wishes. The position could not be very remu- 



60 

nerative, — it involved tedious and perplexing tasks, and it did 
not seem commensurate with the abilities, nor altogether fitting 
to the tastes of a great commander who had so long dealt with 
the vast and active concerns of military life ; but the sugges- 
tion was unanimously adopted, and Hon. John W. Brocken- 
brough, Eector of the Board, was appointed to apprise General 
Lee of the fact. At fiirst General Lee hesitated. He modestly 
distrusted his own competency to fulfill the trust, and he feared 
that the hostility of the Government towards him might direct 
adverse influences against the Institution which it was proposed 
to commit to his care. These considerations being successfully 
combated by those who knew how high his qualifications were, 
and how great were his attractions, General Lee accepted the 
position tendered him, and on the 2nd of October, 1865, he 
took the oath of office before the Rev. W. S. White— the old- 
est Christian minister of Lexington— and M^as duly installed in 
the presence of the trustees, professors, and students, as Presi- 
dent of Washington College. On the eve of acceptance, two 
propositions were made to General Lee : one to become Presi. 
dent of a large corporation, with a salary of $10,000 per annum ; 
another to take the like office in another corporation, with a 
salary of $50,000. But he had made up his mind to come 
hei-e, and this is what he said to a friend who brought him the 
last munificent offer : 

"I have a self-imposed task which I must accomplish. I have 
lead the young men of the South in battle; I have seen many 
of them fall under my standard. I shall devote my life now 
to training young men to do their duty in life." 

This was the high resolve that brought him here, and Robert 
E. Lee seemed to be the great, heroic Captain when he stood 
before the Virginia Convention with superb courage and daunt- 
less mien, and "devoted his sword to his native State," he 
seemed informed with a spirit that gathered its strength and 
loveliness from Heaven, when he stood here and consecrated 
his remaining years to training up to life's duties, the sons, 
brothers and comrades of those who had followed him in bat- 
tle. Young men of the South ! to him who thus stood by 



61 

us, wc owe a debt immeasurable, and as long as oiirraee is upon 
earth, let our children and our children's childen hold that debt 
sacred. 

GKNKUAL lee's ADMINISTRATION AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT. 

General Lee was eminently qu-dified for the task assumed. 
His own education had been liberal and thorough. In his 
youth he had been grounded by his tutors in a knowledge of 
ancient history, and of the dead languages, the Latin and the 
Greek, and the tastes thus early stimulated had been preserved 
and cultivated in after years. As a cadet at West Point he 
graduated second in a distinguished class, excellence of conduct 
and excellence of attainment going hand in hand. Appointed 
an officer of Engineei^s when he entered the army, and often 
charged with most important works, the duties devolved upon 
him required assiduous study and research. Still later, after he 
returned with great distinction from Mexico, he became the 
Superintendent and Head of the Military Academy at West 
Point, and occupying that ])osition for three years, he acquired 
experience and developed capacities which singularly fitted him 
for the sphere wdiich he nov/ entered — the training of youth. 
It is iifdicative of his comprehensive views of education, that 
during his superintendency at West Point, the course of study 
was extended to live years and greatly enlarged in its scope. 
And wlien he entered upon his duties here, it was soon evident 
that he possessed every qualification to direct with signal suc- 
cess, the affairs of the Institution, and to mould the characters 
and minds of those confided to his care. 

It was understood from the time of his inauguration that he 
would not himself act as teacher of any class ; but would have 
in charije the business and financial concerns of the Collegce — 
its educational curriculum, and the discipline of its students ; 
and from first to last, he devoted himself to these tasks with un- 
ceasing assiduity and success. 

Everything here felt with his presence a renovating and pro- 
gressive impulse. Nothing escaped his attention, from the 
smallest detail of business to the gravest question of educa- 



62 

tional policj/ ; and in whatever concerned the well-being of 
the College, its Faculty and its students, his discerning judg- 
ment and his sympathetic heart worked out the ri^ht result. 
Under his supervision the buildings were repaired, the accom- 
modations enlarged, the chemical and philosophical apparatus 
replaced, the library replenished and reformed. He it was who 
selected the site of ^''on Chapel which now guard his mortal 
remains — his was the hand that draughted the plan, and his 
the eye that saw its parts conjoined together. No figure-head 
was he, but a worker, and doer, bringing things to pass as the}' 
should be. 

Prior to his administration, there were but five Chairs of In- 
struction, several Departments being combined under one pro- 
fessional head : 

1. Mental and Moral Science, and political economy. 

2. Latin Language and Literature. 

3. Greek Language and Literature. 

4. Mathematics and Physical Science. 
.5. Chemistry and Natural Philosophy. 

Speedily after his accession, three new Chairs were added, 
and Professors elected to fill them ; the Chair of Natural Phi- 
losophy, embracing, in addition to physics, Acoustics, Optics, 
Szc, the various subjects of Natural and Applied Mechanics ; 
the Cliair of Applied Mathematics, embracing Astronom}^ 
Civil and Military Engineering ; and Chair of Modern Lan- 
guages, to whieli was added English Philosophy. In the 
second year of his incumbency the Chair of History and English 
Literature was established, and soon afterwards the department 
of "Law and Equity," under that eminent jurist, Judge John 
W. Brockenbrough. 

Several other Chairs were included in the President's pro- 
gramme, one of the "Englisli Language," one of "Applied 
Chemistry," and also, " A School of Medicine," a " School of 
Journalism " and a " School of Commerce " — tlie latter being 
designed to give special instruction and systematic training in 
whatever pertained to business in the most enlarged sense of the 
term. Amongst other changes introduced by General Lee was 



the substitution of the elective system instead of a fixed enn-i- 
culum ; and the system of discipline wliich he adopted, in no 
wise partaking of the military type, to which it might have 
been supposed his disposition would incline— was that wliich 
has so long prospered at the University of Virginia; a system 
which ignored espionage and compulsion, and put every stu- 
dent upon a manly sense of honor— a system which, especially 
with young men not too immature to appreciate it, and which, 
with all men who have the capacity of being gentlemen, is the 
best calculated to develop the virtuous and independent ele- 
ments of character. Here for five years the General devoted 
himself to the cause of education, and here under him that 
cause nobly flourished. Here he demonstrated that compre- 
hensive grasp of every subject coimected with his sphere ; and 
the keen appehension of the demands of tliis progressive ao-e, 
and of a land entering as it were upon a new birth. His asso- 
ciates in the Faculty loved him as a father, and all who saw or 
knew his work, with common voice proclaimed the conviction 
expressed by one of the most distinguished of his associates, 
that he was " the best College President that this country has 
ever produced." 

His work has been established, and though the great Chief 
has " fallen by the way," one wlio bears his name, and who is 
worthy of it, has taken up the lines that fell from his hands ; 
and under him, with God's blessing, the good cause goes on 
prospering and to prosper. 

And so happily it has come to pass that the little school of 
the pioneers, planted in the wilderness, is to-day a great univer- 
sity ; that the ambition of William Graham, the college mate 
of Henry Lee, has been realized beyond its sweetest dream ; 
that the college which the Father of his Country lifted up 
by his generosity from a struggling academy to educate the 
children of those who had fallen in its defense,- and which was 
blighted to tiie verge of destruction, has been restoi'ed and 
magnified by the hand of him who alone of all men, living or 
dead, now equally shares with his illustrious prototype, the 
eulogy pronounced by his own sire. Light Horse Harry Lee : 



64 

" First in Peace, first in War, and first in the hearts of his 
Countrymen r 

LEE THE MAN — HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 

Thus feebly and imperfectly have I attempted to trace tlic 
military acluevemenits and services of him to whose memory 
this day is dedicated. Lee the General, stands abreast with the 
greatest captains of all time, and Lee the Patriot, has universal 
homage. It is now of Lee the Man, that I would speak : 

In personal appearance. General Lee was a man whom once 
to see was ever to remember. His figure was tall, erect, well 
proportioned, lithe and graceful. A fine head, with broad, 
uplifted brow, and features boldly but yet delicately chiseled, 
bore the high aspect of one born to command. The firm yet 
mobile lips, and the thick-set jaw, were expressive of daring 
and resolution ; and the dark sciutillant eye flashed with the 
light of a brilliant intellect and a fearless spirit. His whole 
countenance, indeed, bespoke alike a powerful mind, and in- 
domitable will, yet beamed with charity, gentleness and benev- 
olence. Li his manners, quiet, reserve, unaffected courtesy and 
native dignity, made manifest the character of one who can 
only be described by the name of gentleman. And taken all 
in all, liis presence possessed that grave and simple majesty 
which commanded instant reverence and repressed familiarity ; 
and yet so charmed by a certain modesty and gracious defer- 
ence, that reverence and confidence were ever ready to kindle 
into affection. It was impossible to look upon him, and not to 
recognize at a glance that in him, nature gave assurance of a 
man created great and good. 

Mounted in the field, and at the head of his troops, a glimpse 
of Lee was an inspiration. His figure was as distinctive as that 
of Napoleon.. Ah! soldiers! who can forget it ? The black 
slouch hat, the cavalry boots, the dark cape, the plain gray coat 
without an ornament but the three stars on the collar, the calm, 
victorious face, the splendid, manly figure on the gray warhorse, 
that steps as if proudly conscious of his rider ; he looked every 



65 

inch the true knight— tlie grand, invincible champion of a great 
principle. 

MENTAL ArrJSIBUTES AND ATTAINMENTS. 

The intellectual abilities of General Lee were of the highest 
order, and his attainments, scientific and literarv, were remark- 
able for one who had devoted so many years of his life to the 
exacting duties and details of the camp and the field. He read 
much, digested what he read, and amplified his readings with 
reflective power. But so modest and unpretentious was he— 
so chastened and retiring was his ambition, and his overshad- 
owing military exploits had so fixed the admiring gaze of men, 
that when he came here few knew how rare were the ticcom- 
plishments, and how versatile and adaptive was the genius of 
the gentleman who seemed by nature frame 1 to lead the ranks 
and grace the habiliments of war. The training, habits and 
occupations of the soldier seldom guide his footsteps to classic 
haunts, and when the great Captain is imhorsed and his trap- 
pings disappear, how often do we find that the soldier was a 
soldier only, and nothing more. But when Lee the soldier 
stepped forth in civic dress, it was soon evident to all, as it had 
been previously to those who knew him best, that here was one 
full panoplied to dignify and adorn any civic station ; one who 
disclosed himself in wide converse and correspondence em- 
bracing all manner of delicate and diflicult situations, to possess 

that quality which is the consummate flower of wisdom 

unerring judgment comlined loith exquisite taste. The litera- 
ture that may be found in the letters of the great, unfolds the 
very essence of the genius of the men and of the times they 
lived in ; and in my humble judgment it were suflicient to read 
the letters written by General Lee, and which are collated in the 
beautiful memorial volume- prepared by Kev. Dr. J. Wm. 
Jones, to discern that the writer was one who profoundly com- 
prehended the topics of the day, and wielded a pen as vio-orous 
and polished as his sword. And when we contemplate in con- 
nection with his deeds the fair and lofty character that is 

^•" "Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes and Letters of General R. E. Lee" 
liy J. Wm. Jones, Secretary Southern Historical Society. ' 



66 

mirrored in them, we behold one whose strong, equitable and 
wide-reaching mind was such that liad he devoted it to juris- 
prudence, had made the name of Justice as venerable and august 
as when a Marshall enunciated the law ; who, had he been a 
statesman, had moulded the institutions of his country, and 
guided its political currents with as wise, firm and temperate a 
hand as that of Washington ; who, had he headed any of the 
great corporate enterprises of transportation, commerce or de- 
velopment in which aggregated capital relies on scientific saga- 
city for groat works, had greatly aided the solution of many 
perplexing problems that now agitate the public mind ; who, 
had he bent himself to literature, had produced a page filled 
with the glory and dignity of philosophic inquiry or historic 
truth — one indeed so perfectly balanced in mind and v/ill, so 
nobly turned in moral worth, so just in heart, so clear in thought, 
and so authoritative .in direction that in any land where the 
comm-on sentiment can have spontaneous play, would, as inevi- 
tably as the sparks fly upward, and by a law scarce less fixed 
than that which moves the planets in their course, have been 
the leading man in whatever he undertook, and would have 
been called by one voice to become the Chief Magistrate of the 
people. 

TEUE HEROISM THE HEROISM OF I.EE. 

As little things make up the sum of life, so they reveal the 
inward nature of men and furnish keys to history. It is in the 
office, the street, the field, the workshop, and by the fireside, 
that men show what stuff they are made of, not less than in 
those eventful actions which write themselves in lightnings 
across the skies and mark the rise and fall of nations. iSTay, 
more — the highest attributes of human nature are not disclosed 
in action, but in self-restraint and repose. "Self-restraint," as 
has been truly said by Thomas Hughes, "is the highest form 
of self-assertion." 

It is harder, as ever}' soldier knows, to lie down and take the 
iire of batteries without returning it, than to rise and charge to 
the cannon's mouth. It is harder to give the soft answer that 
turns away wrath than to retort a word with a blow. Do Long, 



67 

in the frozen Arctic wastes, dying alone inch bj inch of cold 
and starvation, yet intent on his work, and writing lines for 
the benefit of others, deserved, as well as the Marshal of France 
who received it, the name of "bravest of the brave." The 
artless little Alabama girl, who was guiding General Forrest 
along a dangerous path when the enemy fired a volley upon 
him, and who instinctively spread her skirts and cried: "Get 
behind me !" had a spirit as high as that which filled the bosom 
of Joan of Arc or Charlotte Corday. 

The little Holland boy, who, seeing the water oozing through 
the dyke, and the town near by about to be deluged and de- 
stroyed, neither cried nor ran, but stopped, and all alone, stifled 
the opening gap with earth, in instant peril of being swept to 
death unhonored and unknown, show^ed a finer and nobler fibre 
than that of Cambronne wlien he shouted to the conquering 
British : " The Guard dies, but never surrenders." The soldier 
of Pompeii, buried at his post standing there, and flying not 
from the hot waves of lava that rolled over him, tells the Roman 
story in grander language than the ruins of the Coliseum. And 
Herndon, on the deck of his ship, doing all to save his passen- 
gers, making deliberate choice of death before dishonor, and 
going down into the great deep v.dth brow calm and unruffled, 
is a grander picture of true, heroic temper than that of Caesar 
leading his legions, or of the young Corsican at the Bridge of 
Lodi. 

Amongst tlie quiet, nameless workers of the world — in the 
stubble field and by the forge, bending over a sick child's bed 
or smoothing an outcast's pillow, is many a hero and heroine 
truer, nobler than those over M'hose brows hang plumes and 
laurels. 

In action there is the stimulus of excited physical faculties, 
and of the moving passions — but in the composure of the calm 
mind that quietly devotes itself to hard life-work — putting aside 
temptations — contemplating and rising superior to all surround- 
ings of adversity, suffering, danger and death, man is revealed 
in his highest manifestation. Then, and then alone, he seems 
to have redeemed his fallen state, and to bo recreated in God's 



iraacje. At tlie bottom of all true heroism is unselfishness. 
Its crowning expression is sacrifice. The world is suspicious 
of vaunted heroes. Thej are so easily manufactured. So many 
feet are cut and trimmed to fit Cinderella's slippers that we hes- 
itate long before we hail the Princess. But when the true 
Hero has come, and we know that here he is, in verity, Ah I 
how the hearts of men leap forth to greet him — how worship- 
fully we welcome God's noblest work — the strong, honest, 
fearless, npright man. 

In Robert Lee was such a hero vouchsafed to us and to man- 
kind, and whether we behold him declining comnumd of the 
Federal army to light the battles and share the miseries of his 
own people ; proclaiming on the heights in front of Gettysburg 
that the fault of the disaster was his own; leading charges in 
the crisis of combat ; walking under the yoke of conquest with- 
out a murmur of complaint ; or refusing fortunes to come here 
and train the youth of his country in the path of dut}' — he is 
ever the same meek, grand, self-sacrificing spirit. Here he 
exhibited qualities not less worthy and heroic than those dis- 
played on the broad and open theatre of conflict, when the eyes 
of nations watched his every action. Here in the calm repose 
of civil and domestic duties, and in the trying routine of inces- 
sant tasks, lie lived a life as high as when, day by day, he mar- 
shalled and led his thin and wasting lines, and slept b}- night 
upon the field that was to be drenched again in blood upon 
the morrow. 

Here in these quiet walks, far removed from *' war or battle's 
sound," came into view, as when the storm o'er past the moun- 
tain seems a pinnacle of light, the landscape beams with fresher 
and tenderer beauties, and the purple, golden clouds float above 
us in the azure depths like the Islands of the Blest, so came 
into view the towering grandeur, the massive splendor and the 
loving kindness of the cliaracter of General Lee, and the very 
sorrows that overhung his life seemed luminous with celestial 
hues. Here he revealed in manifold gracious hospitalities, ten- 
der charities, and patient, wortiiy counsels, how deep and pure 
and inexhaustible were the fountains of his virtues. And loviny; 



(J9 

hearts delio-lit to recall, as loving- lips will ever deli<^lit to tell, 
the thousand little things he did which sent forth lines of light 
to irradiate the gloom of the eonqiiercvl land, and to lift up the 
liopes and cheer the works of the people. 

Was there a scheme of public improvement ? He took hearty 
interest in i)romoting its success in every way he could. Was 
there an enterprise of charity, or education, or religion, that 
needed friendly aid ^ He gave it according to his store, and 
sent with the gift words that were deeds. Was there a poor 
soldier in distress i Whoever else forgot him, it was not Lee. 
Was there a proud spirit chafing under defeat, and breaking 
forth in angry complaints and criminations, or a wanderer who 
had sought in other lands an unvexed retreat denied him here? 
He it w^as who with mild voice conjured restraint and patience, 
recalled the wanderer home and reared above the desolate 
liearthstone the image of duty. xVnd whosoever mourned the 
loved and lost, who had died in vain for the cause now perished, 
he it was who poured into the stricken heart the balm of sym- 
pathy and consolation. 

Here, indeed, Lee, no longer the Leader, became, as it were, 
the Priest of his people, and the young men of Washington 
College were but a fragment of those who found in his voice 
and his example the shining signs that never misguided their 
footsteps. 

INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE AND ILLUSTii ATIONS OF HIS CUAKACTER. 

Many are the illustrations and incidents which show how 
beautifully blended in his character were the sterner qualities 
that command respect, with the gentle traits that engage affec- 
tion. And his quick apprehension of every natural beauty, 
and keen sympathy, for all living things show the exquisite 
sensibilities of his heart. J I is letters from Mexico teem with 
expressions of the delight with which he looked upon the 
bright-winged birds and luxuriant flowers of that sunny land 
and during the Confederate war, when cramped resources 
denied bestowal of the smallest tokens of friendship, we lind 
his letters to dear ones frequently laden with the Horal emblems 



TO 

of his constant thought and love. In one of tliein he says: "I 
send you some sweet violets that I gathered for you this morn- 
ing while covered with the dense white frost whose crystals 
glittered in the bright sun like diamonds, and formed a brooch 
of rare beauty and sweetness which could not be fabricated by 
the expenditure of a world of money." 

And when after the war he visited Alexandria, the scene of 
his boyhood days, one of his old neighbors found him gazing 
over the palings of the garden where he used to play. " I am 
looking," he said, " to see if the old snow-ball trees are still 
here. I should be^sorry to miss them." How he loved, too, 
these grand mountains ! Amongst them, mounted on his faith- 
ful war-horse. Traveller, he often roamed while he spent his 
days amongst you. And here in nature's works he found 
refreshment from the toils of life, and looked from nature 
up to 'nature's God. 

His tenderness was as instinctive as his valor. A writer 
who, on one occasion, stood in his company watching a fire in 
the mountains, relates how, when others were wrapt in its 
scenic grandeur. General Lee remarked : "It is beautiful! but 
I have been thinking of the poor animals that must perish in 
the flames." And another tells how, when in the lines near 
Richmond, the bolts of battle swept the point where the Gen- 
eral stood, he ordered his attendants to the rear, and while 
himself calmly surveying the field under fire, he stopped to 
pick up a fledging sparrow that had fallen from its nest, and 
restore it to the bough overhead. 

Pictures, are these, full of infinite suggestion I 

A Eobespierre and a Torquemada may exhibit emotional 
tenderness, shallow and fitful, but that of Lee was the vital 
principle of a robust, exalted nature, which found its inspira- 
tions in the sacred heart of Charity, and diffused itself in cease- 
less acts of magnanimity and love. 

So it was that while the passions of men were loosened, and 
the fierce work of war spread havoc and desolation far and 
wide, he who directed its tremendous forces with stern and 
nervous hand, moved also amongst its scenes of woe — a gra- 



cious and healing spirit. iSo it was to liiui a stricken foe was a 
foe no longer — that his orders to the surgeons of his army were 
to " treat the wJiole field alike,"' and when, at Chancellorsvillc, 
he in person led the tempestnons assault that won the victory, 
and stood amongst the wounded of the blue and glay, heaped 
around him in indiscriminate carnage — his iirst thought and . 
care were for them, alike in their common suffering. So it was 
that whether in Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Virginia, he 
restrained every excess of conduct, and held the reckless and 
the ruthless within those bounds which duty sets to action. So 
it was that to one homeless during the days of strife, he wrote : 
" Occupy yourself in helping those more helpless than your- 
self.^' So it was, that when the gallant General Phil. Kearney 
fell at Ox Hill, he sent his sword and horse through the lines 
to his mourning widow — and that when Lincoln was struck 
down by an assassin's hand, he denounced the deed as '• a crime 
previously unknown to the country, and one that must be dep- 
recated by every American." And so, too, wlicu one day here, 
a man humbly clad souglit alms at his door, Lee pointed to his 
retiring form and said : '' That is one of our old soldiers who is 
in necessitous circumstances. He fought on the other side, but 
we must not remember that against him now." And this poor 
soldier said of him afterwards: " He is the noblest man that 
ever lived. He not only had a kind word for me, but he gave 
me some money to help me on my way.'' Better is that praise 
than any garland of the Poet or the Rhetorician. 

THE RELATIONS DETWEEN LEE AND HIS MEN. 

As we glance back through the smoke-drifts of his numy 
campaigns and battles, his kind, considerate acts towards his 
officers and men gleam tlirough them as brightly as their bur- 
nished weapons; and they formed a fellowship as noble as that 
which bound the Knights of the Round Table to Arthur, '' the 
blameless King." His principle of discipline was indicated in 
his expression that " a true man of honor feels liimself Iiuni- 
bled when he cannot help humbling others," and never exer- 
cising stern authority except when absolutely indispenfable, his 



72 

influence was the more potent because it ever appealed to hon- 
orable motives and natural affections. In the dark days of the 
Revolution, two Major-Generals conspired with a faction of the 
Continental Congress to put Gates in the place of "Washing- 
ton, denominating him a "weak General." Kever did Con- 
federate dream a disloyal tliought of Lee, and the greater the 
disaster, the more his army leaned upon him. 

When Jackson fell, Lee wrote to him : " You are better off 
tlian I am, for while you have lost your left arm, I have lost 
my right arm." And Jackson said of Jiim : " Lee is a phe- 
nomenon. He is the only man that I would follow blindfold." 
Midway between Petersburg and Appomattox, with the ruins 
of an Empire falling on his shoulders, and the gory remnants 
of his army staggering under the thick blows of the advancing 
foe, we see Lee turning aside from the column, and riding up 
to the home" of the widow of the gallant Colonel John Thorn" 
ton, who had fallen at Sharpsburg. " I have not time to tarry,'' 
he says, " but I could not pass by without stopping a moment 
t6 pay my respects to the widow of my honored soldier. Colo- 
nel Thorton, and tender her my deepest sympatiiy in the sore 
bereavement she sustained when the country was deprived of 
his invaluable services." 

Three of his sons were there in the army with him ; but they 
were too noble to seek, and he too noble to bestow, honors 
because of the tie of blood. One of them, a private in the 
artillery, served his gun with his fellows. Another is in a hos- 
tile prison, and a Federal officer of equal rank begs that Gen- 
eral Lee will effect an exchange, the one for the other. The 
General declined, saying, " that he will ask no favor for his 
own son that could not be asked for the humblest j^rivate in the 
army." On the cars, crowded with passengers, a soldier, scarce 
noticed, struggles to draw his coat over his wounded arm. One 
from amongst many rises and goes to his aid. It is General 
Lee. An array surgeon relates that wdiile the battle of the 
Crater raged, General Lee rode to the rear of the line where 
the wounded lay, and, dismounting, moved amongst them. 
" Doctor, why are you not doing something for this man," he 



said, pointing- to one sorely stricken. The Doctor raised tlie 
gray jacket and pointed to the ghastly wound which made 
life hopeless. General Lee bent tenderly over the wounded 
man and then in a voice tremulous with emotion, exclaimed : 
" Alas ! poor soldier ! may God make soft his dying pillow." 

Such were some of the many acts that made the men love 
Lee. And in the fight he was ever ready to be foremost. Lee 
the Soldier, over-rode Lee the General, and when the pinch 
and struggle came, there was he. "Lee to the rear" became 
the soldiei's' battle-cry ; and oftentimes, when the long lines 
came gleaming on, and shot and shell in tempest ripped the 
earth, uptore the forest and filled the air with death, those sol- 
diers in their rusty rags, paused as they saw his face amongst 
them ; and then, with manhood's imperious love, these sove- 
reigns of the field commanded, " Genei-al Lee, go back," as 
their condition of advancing. And then forward to the death. 
Was ever such devotion ? Yes, Lee loved his men " as a father 
pitieth his children," and they loved him with a love that 
"passeth the love of woman," for they saw in him the iron hero 
who could lead the brave with front as dauntless as a warrior's 
crest, and the gentle friend who comforted the stricken with 
soul as tender as a mother's prayer. 

FORGIVENESS. 

Lee had nothing in common with the little minds that know 
not how to forgive. His was the land that had been invaded ; 
his the people who were cut down, ravaged and ruined ; 
his the home that was torn away and spoliated ; his was the 
cause that perished. He was the General discrowned of his 
mighty place, and he the citizen disfranchised. Yet Lee for- 
gave, and counselled all to forgive and forget. 

The Greek poet has said : 

" The firmest miad will fail 

Beneath misfortune's stroke, and stunned, depart 
From its sage plan of action." 

But the mind of Lee received the rude shock of destiny 
without a quiver; so the genial currents of his sweet, heroic 



74 

soul rolled on unruffled, while in their calm, jHiro depths were 
reflected the light of heaven. 

When a minister once denounced the North, and the indict- 
ment of General Lee for treason, the general followed him to 
the door and said : " Doctor, there is a good old book which I 
read, and you preach from, which says : ' Love your enemies, 
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and 
pray for them which dispitefully use you.' Do you think your 
remarks this evening were quite in the spirit of that teaching ?" 
And he added : " I have fought against the people of the 
North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the 
South her dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward 
them bitter or vindictive feelings, and have never seen the day 
when I did not pray for them.'" 

Soon after the passage of those hai'sli acts of Congress, dis- 
francliising Confederates for participating in the war, and 
while every Southern breast was filled with indignation, some 
friends in General Lee's presence expressed themselves with 
gr«at bitterness. The General turned to the table near him, 
where lay the manuscript of his father's life, which he was 
then editing, and read these lines : 

'' Learn from von Orient shell to love th}' foe, 
And store with pearls the hand that brings thee woe ; 
Free like yon rock, from base, vindictive pride, 
Emblaze with gems the wrist that rends thy side. 
Mark where yon tree rewards the stony shower, 
With fruit nectarious or the balmy flower ; 
All Nature cries aloud : shall men do less 
Than love the smiter, and the raiier bless ?" 

•' These lines,'" said he, "were written in Arabia, and by a 
Mahoraedan, the Poet of Shiraz, the immortal Ilafiz ; and 
ought not we, who profess to be governed by the principles of 
Christianit}', to rise at least to the standard of this Mahomedan 
poet, and learn to forgive our enemies?" 

In the rnsh of this age, a character so simply meek and so 
proudly, grandly strong, is scarce comprehensible to the eager, 
restless competitors for wealth and place and power. And the 
" practical man," as he is called, who ever keeps a keen eye to 



the TTiiain chance, and is esteemed happy just in proportion as 
fortune favors his schemes of ambition or profit, is apt to 
attribute weakness to one so void of selk-seeking and resent- 
ment, and so amiable and gentle in liis feelings and conduct 
towards his fellow-men. But could he have seen with what 
patient attention to detail this ceaseless worker dispatched 
bnsiness and brought great results from sm^all materials — with 
what quick, strong, comprehensive grasp he solved difficulties 
and conquered dangers — what good clieer he gave the toiling ; 
wliat hope he gave the despondent ; what comfort he gave the 
afflicted. Aye ! could he have caught the glance of that eagle 
eye, and looked on that serene, bold brow which over-awed the 
field of battle, and then beheld the swift, stern, inspiring 
energy which propelled its forces to deeds which seemed almost 
impossible to man — there would have been to him a new rev- 
elation. He would have beheld a character which, to one 
unacquainted with it, would seem to have been idealized by 
the genius of the poet rather that to liave existed in the flesh, 
and to have stepped forth from the sanctuary of romance 
rather than to have belonged to real history. lie would liave 
realized, by contact with this simple gentleman, that the true 
greatness and true glory of man lies in those elements wliicli 
are superior to fortune — that he is most practical who is him- 
self above it, and that happiness, if ever on earth happiness be 
found, has fixed her temple only in the heart that is without 
guile, and is without reproach of man or woman. 

THE LAST DAYS OF Gf:XERAL LEE. 

Five years rolled by while here " the self-imposed mission " 
of Lee was being accomplislied, and now, in 1870, he had 
reached the age of sixty-three. A robust constitution, never 
abused by injurious habits, would doubtless have prolonged his 
life beyond the three-score years and ten which the Psalmist 
has ascribed as the allotted term of man ; but many causes 
were sapping and undermining it. The exposures of two wars 
in whicli he had participated, and the tremendous strain on 
nerves and heart and brain which his vast responsibilities and 



76 

his accumulated trials had entailed, had been silently and grad- 
ually doing their work ; and now his step had lost something 
of its elasticity, the shoulders began to stoo]i as if under a 
growing burden, and the ruddy glow of health upon his coun- 
tenance had passed into a feverish flush. Into his ears, and into 
his heart, had been poured the afflictions of his people, and 
while composed and self-contained and uncomplaining, who 
could have looked upon that great face, over whose majestic 
lineaments there stole the shade of sadness, without perceiving 
that grief for those he loved was gnawing at the heart strings? 
without perceiving in the brilliant eye, which now and then had 
a far-away, abstracted gaze, that the soul within bore a sorrow 
" that only Heaven could heal/' 

What he suffered his lips have never spoken. In the beau- 
tiful language of another : " Ilis lips were closed like the gates 
of some majestic temple, not for concealment, but because that 
within was holy." Yet, let us take consolation to ourselves 
that there came to him much to give him joy. Around him 
were those united by the closest ties of blood and relationship 
in unremitting fidelity. JSTot a man of those who ever fought 
under him — aye, not one — ever proved faithless in respect for 
him ; the great mass of them gave to him every expression in 
their power of their affection. To the noble mind, sweet is the 
generous and genuine praise of noble men, and for Lee there 
was full measure. He lived to see deeply laid the foundation, 
and firmly built the pedestal, of his great glory, and to catch 
the murmur of those voices which would rear high his image 
and bear his name and fame to remote ages, and distant nations. 
The brave and true of every land paid him tribute. Tlie first 
soldiers of foreign climes saluted him with eulogy ; the scholar 
decorated his page with dedication to his name, the artist 
enshrined his form and features in noblest work of brush and 
chisel, the poet hymned the heroic pathos of his life in tender, 
lofty strain. Enmity grew into friendship before liis noble 
bearing, and humanity itself attended him with all human 
sympathy. And over all, " God made soft his dying pillow." 



DEATH. 

Tlio particular form of his mortal malady was rheiimatisni of 
tke heart, originating in the exposure of his campaigns, and 
aggravated by the circumstances of his many trying situations. 
He traveled South in the spring of 1870, and in the summer 
resorted to the Hot springs of Virginia ; and when September 
came, he was here in better health and spirits, at his accustomed 
work. On the 2Sth of September, he conducted, as usual, his 
correspondence, and performed the incidental tasks of his otHce, 
and after dinner he attended a meeting of the Yestry of Grace 
Episcopal Church, of which body he was a member. A ques- 
tion as to the minister's salary coming before the Board, and 
there being a deficiency in the amount necessary. General Lee 
said : ''I will give that sum." A sense of M'eariness came over 
him before the meeting ended, and at its close he retired with 
wan, flashed face. Retui'uing home, he found the family cir- 
cle gathered for tea, and took his place at the board, standing 
to say grace. The lips failed to voice the blessings prompted 
by the heart, and without a word he took his seat with an 
expression of sublime resignation on his face ; for well he 
knew that the Master's call had come, and he was ready to 
answer. 

He was borne to his chamber, and skilled physicians and lov- 
ing hands did all that man could do. For nearly a fortnight 

" Twixt night and morn upon the horizon's verge, 
Between two worlds life hovered like a star." 

And thus on the morning of October 12th, the star of the mor- 
tal sank into the sunrise of immortality, and Robert Lee passed 
hence to "• where beyond these voices there is peace." 

" Tell A. P. Hill to prepare for action," were amongst the 
last words of Stonewall Jackson. ''Tell Hill he mnst come 
up," were the last words of Lee. Their brave Lieutenant, who 
rests under the green turf of Hollywood, seems to have been 
latest in the minds of his great commanders, while their spirits 
yet in martial fancy, roamed again the fields of conflict, and 
ere they passed to where the soldier dreams of battle-fields no 
more. 



75 

THE LESSON5 OF HIS LIFE. 

And did lie live in vain, this brave and gentle Lee? And 
have his works perished with him '( I wonld blush to ask the 
question save to give the answer. 

A leader of armies he closed his career in complete disaster. 
But the military scientist studies his campaigns, and finds in 
them designs as bold and brilliant and actions as intense and 
energetic as ever illustrated the art of war. The gallant cap- 
tain beholds in his bearing, courage as rare as ever forced a 
desperate field, or restored a lost one. The private soldier 
looks np at an image as benignant and commanding as ever 
thrilled the heart with highest impulse of devotion. 

The men who wrested victory from his little band, stood 
wonder-stricken and abashed when they saw how few were 
those who dared oppose them, and generous admiration burst 
into spontaneous tribute to the splendid leader who bore defeat 
with the cpiiet resignation of a hero. The men who fought 
ucder him never revered Or loved him more than on the day 
he sheathed his sword. Had he but said tlie word, they would 
have died for honor. It was because he said the word that 
they resolved to live for duty. 

Plato congratulated himself, first, that he was born a man ; 
second, that he had the hajDpiness of being a Greek ; and, 
third, that he was the contemporarj^ of Sophocles. And in 
this vast throng to-day, and here and there the wide world 
over, is many an one who wore the grey, who rejoices that he 
was born a man to do a man's part for his suffering country ; 
that he had the glory of being a Confederate ; and who feels a 
just, proud and glowing consciousness in his bosom when he 
says unto himself : " I was a follower of Robert Lee. I was a 
soldier in the army of Northern Virginia." 

DID HE WIELD PATKONAGE AXD POWER ? 

No, he could not have appointed a friend to the smallest 
office. He could bestow no emolument upon any of his fol- 
lowers. But an intimation of his wish amongst his own peo- 



V9 

pie carried an influence which thecornmandof the autocrat can 
never possess, and his approval of conduct or character was 
deemed an honor, and was an honor, which outvied the stars 
and crosses and titles conferred bj kings. 

DID HE GAIN WEALTH. 

No. He neither sought nor despised it. It thrust itself 
upon him, but he put it away from him. He refused its com- 
panionship because its people could not have its company. He 
gave what he had to a weak cause, and to those whose necessi- 
ties were greater than his own. And home itself he sacrificed 
on the altar of his country. But he refuted the shallow world- 
ling's maxim that "every man has his price," and proved that 
true manhood has none, however great. 

The plunderer of India defended himself by exclaiming that 
" when he considered his opportunities, he was astonished at his 
own moderation." Mark Antony appeased the anger of the 
Roman populace against the fallen tyrant by Cfcsar's will, 
wherein he left them his rich and fair possessions — to them 
and their heirs forever. The Captive of St. Helena, aggran- 
dized with the tears and blood of Europe, drew his ov.'n lono- 
will, dispensing millions to his favorites. Lee had opportuni- 
ties as great as any conqueror and took nothing — not even that 
Avhich others pushed upon him. 

But he has left a great, imperishable legacy to us and our 
heirs forever. The heart of man is his perpetual kingdom. 
There he reigns transcendent, and we exclaim : " Oh, king, 
live forever." 

DID HE POSSESS KAXK I 

Not so. Far from it. He was not even a citizen. The 
country which gave the right of suffrage to the alien ere he 
could speak its language, and to the African freedman ere he 
could read or understand its laws, denied to him the privilege 
of a ballot. He had asked amnesty. He had been refused. 
He had not been tried, but he had been convicted. He for- 
gave, but he was un forgiven. He died a paroled prisoner of 



V 



80 

war, in the calm of peace, five years after war had ended — died 
the foremost and noblest man in a Republic wliich proclaims 
itself '• the land of the free and the home of the brave," him- 
self and his Commander-in-Chief constituting the most conspicu- 
ous of its political slaves. But as the oak, stripped of the foli- 
age by the winter blast, then, and then only, stands forth in 
solemn and mighty majesty against the wintry sky, so Robert 
Lee, stripped of every rank that man could give him, towered 
above the earth and those around him, in the pure sublimity 
and strength of that character which we can only fitly contem- 
plate wlien we lift our eyes from earth and see it dimmed 
airainst the Heavens ! 



DID UK SAVK niS CoUNTKY FKOM CONQUEST 



No. He saw his every foreboding of evil verified. He 

came to share the miseries of his people. He shared them, 

drinking every drop of Sorrow's cup. His cause was lost, and 

the land for which he fought lives not amongst the nations. 

'But the voice of Jlistory echoes the poet's song : 

" Ah 1 realoi of tombs! but let it bear 
This blazon to the hist of times ; 
No nation rose so white and fair, 
Or fell so pure from crimes." 

And he, its type, lived and died, teaching life's greatest les- 
sons, " to suffer and be strong," and that '• misfortune nobly 
borne is good fortune." 

There is a rare exotic that blooms but once in a century, and 
then it fills the light with beauty and the air with fragrance. 
In each of the two centuries of Virginia's Statehood, there has 
sprung from the loins of her heroic race, a son whose name and 
deeds will bloom throughout the ages. Each fought for Lib- 
erty and Independence ; each against a people of his own race ; 
each against the forms of established power. George Wash- 
ington won against a kingdom whose seat was three thousand 
miles away, whose soldiers had to sail in ships across the deep, 
and he found in the boundless areas of his own land its strong- 



81 

est fortilications. Autrust, beyond the reach of detraction, is 
the fflorv of his name. Kobcrt Edward Lee made fiercer and 
bloodier fight against greater odds, and at greater sacrifice, and 
lost — against the greatest nation of modern history, armed with 
steam and electricity, and all the appliances of modern science; 
a nation which mustered its hosts at the very threshold of his 
<loor. l>at his life teaches the grandest lesson how manhood 
can rise transcendent over Adversity, and is in itself alone, 
under God, pre-eminent — the grander lesson, because as sorrow 
and misfortune are sooner or later the common lot — even that 
of him who is to-day the conqueror — he who bears them best is 
made of sterner stuff, and is the most useful and universal, as 
he is the greatest and noblest exemplar. 

And now he has vanished from us forever. And is this all 
that is left of him — this handful of dust beneath the marble 
stone ? No, the Ages answer as they rise from the gulfs of 
Time, where lay the wrecks of kingdoms and estates, holding 
up in their hands as their only trophies, the names of those 
who have wrought for man in the love and fear of God, and in 
love unfearing for their fellow-men. 

No ! the present answers, bendnig by his tomb. 

No ! the future answers, as the breath ot the morning fans 
its radiant brow, and its soul drinks in sweet inspirations fi'oni 
the lovely life of Lee. 

No, methinks the very heavens echo, as melt into their 
depths the words of reverent love that voice the hearts of rnen 
to the tingling stars. 

CONCLUSION. 

Come we then to-day in loyal love to sanctify our memories, 
to purify our hopes, to make strong all good intent by commu- 
nion with the spirit of him, who, being dead, yet speaketh. 
Come, child, in th}^ spotless innocence ; come, wonian, in thy 
purity ; come, youth, in thy prime ; come, manhood, in thy 
strength ; come, age, in thy ripe wisdom ; come citizen, come 
soldier, let us strew the roses and lilies of June around his 



S2 

toiiil), for lie, like them, exlialed in his life Nature's benefi- 
cence, and the i»;rave has consecrated that life, and i^iven it to 
us all ; let ns crown his tomb with the oak, the emblem of his 
strength, and with the laurel, the emblem of his glory, and let 
these guns, whose voices he knew of old, awake the echoes of 
the mountains that Nature herself may join in his solemn 
requiem. 

Come, f(>r here he rests, and — 

'On this green bank, l)y this fair slrcani. 
We set to-tlay a native stone, 
Tlial inoMiory may liis deeds redeem, 

\Vhen, like onr sires, our sons are ,<;une." 

Come, for here the genius of loftiest i>oesy ii\ the artist's 
dream, and through the scidptor's touch, has restored his form 
and features — a Valentine has lifted the marble veil and dis- 
closed him to ns as we would love to look upon him — lying, 
the flower of ktdghthood, in "Joyous (iard." His Sivord 
beside him is sheathed forever. But honor's seal is on his 
brow, and valor's star is on his breast, and the peace that pass- 
eth all understanding descends ujion him. Here, not in the 
hour of his grandest triumph of earth, as when mid the battle 
roar, shouting battalions followed his trenchant sword, and 
bleeding veterans forgot their wounds to lea[) between him and 
his enemies — but here in victory, supreme over earth itself, 
and over death, its conqueror, he rests, his warfare done. 

And as we seem to gaze once more on him we loved ami 
hailed as chief, in his sweet, dreamless sleep, the tranquil face is 
clothed with heaven's light, and the mute lips seem elo(]uent 
with the message that in life he spoke: 

" Tliere is a true glory and a true honor ; tltcgionj of duty 
done^ the honor of the integrity of principle.^'' 



83 

After the conclusion of Major Daniel's oration, Father Ryan, 
at the rccjiiest of (Jen. Early, recited his celebrated poem : 

TtlK SWORD OF LKE. 

Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright. 

Flashed the sword of Lee ! 
F'ar in the front of the deadly fight, 
High o'er the brave in the cause of right. 
Its stainless sheen, like a beacon-light, 

Led us to victory. 

Out of its scabbard, where full long, 

• It slumbered peacefully — 
Roused from its rest by the battle- song, 
Hhielding the feeble, smiting the strong, 
(Juarding the right, and avenging the wrong- • 
Gleamed the sword of Lee I 

Forth from its scabbard, high in air, 

Beneath Virginia's sky — 
And they who saw it gleaming there, 
And knew who bore it, knelt to swear 
Tiiat where that sword led they would dart 

To follow and to die. 

Out of it« scabbard I Never hand 

Waved sword from stain as free, 
Nor purer sword led braver band, 
Nor braver bled for a brighter land, 
Nor brighter land had a cause as grand, 

Nor cau.se, a chief like Lee ! 

I'^orth from its scabbard ! how we prayed 

That sword might victor be ! 
And when our triumph was delayed, 
And many a heart grew sore afraid, 
We still hoped on, while gleamed the blade 

Of noble lioberl Lee ! 

Forth from its .scabbard I all in vain I 

Forth flashed the sword of Lee ! 
'Tis shrouded now in its sheath again, 
It sleeps the sleep of our noble slain, 
Defeated, yet without a stain, 

Proudly and peacefully. 



Nuv 9 lauu 



CEREMONIES 



CONNECTED WITH 

THE INAUGURATION OP THE MAUSOLEUM AND THE UNVEILING 
OF THE RECUMBENT FIGURE 



aENERAL ROBEET EDWARD LEE, 



WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, 



Lexington, Va., June 28, 1883. 



ORATION OF JOHN W. DANIEL, LL D. i; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



Lee Memorial Association. 



LYNCHBURG, VA. : 
J. P. BEi.L & Co., Printers, 

1883. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 706 545 9 









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